Kate Armanini

Kate Armanini is an education reporter for the Tribune. She previously interned on the Tribune's metro desk and covered breaking news for The Boston Globe. Armanini is a graduate of Northeastern University.

The Moody Bible Institute campus on July 30, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Moody Bible Institute sues CPS for religious discrimination

November 7, 2025 at 1:21 p.m.

The Moody Bible Institute is suing the Chicago Board of Education for alleged religious discrimination.

Students enter the Chicago High School for the Arts, known as ChiArts, on Oct. 14, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

CPS board votes to absorb ChiArts, close small South Side charter

November 5, 2025 at 1:12 p.m.

The Chicago Board of Education voted to absorb Chicago High School for the Arts, and to fund EPIC Academy's gradual closure next year.

Chicago Board of Education member Michilla Blaise speaks during a meeting, Aug. 13, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

CPS board agrees to pay $175M pension payment to city, tables decision on EPIC Academy

October 31, 2025 at 1:22 p.m.

The year-long debate over who will pay for the pensions of non-teaching Chicago Public Schools employees ended after a tense, hours-long meeting where the Chicago Board of Education voted to...

Students work on a math problem in groups during a seventh-grade math class on Oct. 30, 2025, at Monroe Middle School in Wheaton. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois graduation rates hit all time high, but new test score benchmarks make progress unclear

October 30, 2025 at 7:58 p.m.

Illinois’ high school graduation rate has hit a 15-year high, as students continue to show academic growth post-pandemic, state officials announced Thursday with the release of the 2025 Illinois Report...

Oct. 15: Karriem Muhammed, left, hugs Marina Lovato, who specializes in inclusion for students with specialized needs, at the Mitzi Freidheim Child Center in Chicago. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Head Start providers and families fear the Trump years

October 27, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The Trump administration has cast uncertainty over Head Start, which acts as a lifeline to some Chicago families.

Kelly Tarrant at home in the Morgan Park neighborhood, Oct. 23, 2005, in Chicago. Tarrant, who worked as investigations manager for Chicago Public Schools for seven years, has filed suit against the Board of Education over her firing in September, alleging her supervisors attempted to interfere in sensitive cases. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Former CPS investigator sues district, alleging interference with ‘politically sensitive’ cases

October 23, 2025 at 6:12 p.m.

A former investigations manager for Chicago Public Schools is suing the school board after firing her for work on politically sensitive cases.

Attorney Maria de las Nieves Bolaños, of Hawks Quindel SC, speaks during a news conference at Federal Plaza in Chicago after a hearing in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Oct. 20, 2025, on a federal lawsuit filed against Northwestern University on behalf of Northwestern Graduate Workers for Palestine and affected students. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Federal judge declines to block Northwestern from disciplining students boycotting antibias training

October 21, 2025 at 1:45 p.m.

A federal judge in Chicago declined a temporary restraining order to Northwestern University graduate students boycotting antibias training.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, left, greets Sean Harden, president of the Chicago Board of Education, before the mayor's budget address to the City Council on Oct. 16, 2025, at City Hall. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

CPS gets $522M boost from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget proposal

October 16, 2025 at 2:19 p.m.

Mayor Brandon Johnson's spending plan for Chicago Public Schools heavily relies on the prospective TIF revenue from the city.

Adrin “AJ” Stauber, 14, walks with his young sisters to the gas station while they wait for their mom to finish up with class on Sept. 17, 2025, at the College of Menominee Nation in Keshena, Wisconsin. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

In rural Wisconsin, proposed federal cuts rattle a tribal college

October 15, 2025 at 12:29 p.m.

The Trump administration has targeted the country’s 37 tribal colleges and universities, many tucked in rural corners of the Midwest.

Morgan Park High School JROTC students march in the Beverly/Morgan Park Memorial Day parade on May 27, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

CPS tells JROTC students to only wear military-issued uniforms inside

October 15, 2025 at 12:51 p.m.

Chicago Public Schools is immediately revising its dress code policy to require students to travel to and from school in civilian clothes.

All Stories