Through unbiased reporting, Chalkbeat journalists help the public examine how schools are truly operating, scrutinize key policy and legislative developments that often happen behind closed doors, and gain access to important data and context. Our reporting holds schools, politicians, and organizations accountable. By building communities’ understanding, we can improve their ability to serve students better.

As part of our strategy, we hold regular community engagement events. In July of 2018, Chalkbeat Tennessee is planning to host an event in advance of the upcoming school board elections in Memphis, Tennessee. The event will be a debate between all the candidates, but with a twist -- it will be led by students. Over the next few months, Chalkbeat journalists will be working with a select group of students to come up with questions for the candidates. Two of the students will moderate the discussion, which we hope will be attended by a wide variety of community members.

The goal of the event is to create a more engaged and active community around issues of education reform in Memphis. At Chalkbeat, our dream is for our community to get more engaged in its local schools. Through our work, we can help people learn together about what is working and not working in Memphis’s public schools. We want to provide the community with a space, both digital and in real life, to talk openly and honestly. We also want to ensure that, when they enter the voting booths to select school board members in August, Memphians are making clear, informed decisions and selecting candidates who will serve students well.