Competing K-12 visions collide in Chicago mayor's race

The K–12 issues at stake in the Chicago mayor’s race were neatly distilled earlier this month, when a bizarre standoff ensued between supporters of the two candidates.

At a press conference for former teacher and union organizer Brandon Johnson, activists from multiple cities gathered to denounce the record of his rival, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas. But their jeers — focused on his aggressive posture toward transforming districts, including by closing schools — were loudly met by Vallas’s own backers, who defended his decades-long career as an educational improvement czar. The cacophony of chants and counter-claims seemed to end in confusion...