¿Cómo está Chalkbeat Chicago informando a los estudiantes de CPS sobre su junta escolar? Zines para jóvenes.

Chalkbeat Chicago has stepped up to inform and engage young students of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on the school board. With the upcoming school board elections in November, this is especially relevant for students who will be directly impacted by the outcomes. Chalkbeat is creating a zine specifically for young people to learn about the school board and how they can advocate for issues they care about.

This zine targets secondary and high school students, but is recommended for younger students as well. The best part? Anyone can get a physical copy to print at home, school, or the local library. Teachers in CPS can use this as a civic engagement activity for their students. A PDF version is available in both English and Spanish.

To create the zine, the artist Kelly Wang provides instructions. It's designed to print on 8.5”x11” paper in color or black and white, folded horizontally and stapled. Each printer is different, so be sure to check the printer settings. If you need to manually flip the paper, make sure it's flipped along the shorter edge for the best results. Print a test copy first to check orientation.

The first printed page should have page 8 and page 1 on the same sheet, with page 2 and page 7 on the reverse side. Print a copy first to ensure the layout is correct. If your printer has an automatic cut option, it can help streamline the process, but it's also a fun activity for students. Take note of the 100% scale or current size setting.

Chalkbeat Chicago, in partnership with other media outlets, is working to distribute physical copies to CPS high schools. They are also reaching out to local organizations working with young people to print and distribute the zines. If you know of a high school, local non-profit, or small business interested in distributing the zines, contact Makiya Seminera at mseminera@chalkbeat.org.