Message From EWA's Executive Director

Whether you’re gearing up for this year’s start-of-school stories or preparing to take the plunge into data-based reporting, EWA’s Summer School webinar series has what you need to make your coverage shine.

For education reporters, coming up with ideas for back to school is a perennial challenge. On Thursday, August 16, at 1 p.m. Eastern time, join us for Back to School: Finding Fresh Angles on Familiar Ground. Get tips from three veteran journalists who know how to mine the beat and avoid the ordinary. We'll discuss new ways of approaching the first day of school, ideas for unique profiles, and how to make the most of your publication's multimedia resources.

And once you’ve filed those back-to-school stories, make waves with some hard-hitting, data-based reporting. If you’ve never parsed test scores, attendance numbers or graduation rates, join us next Thursday, August 23, at 1 p.m. Eastern time for Diving Into Data: Requesting and Analyzing Public School Numbers. Jack Gillum, an investigative reporter with the Associated Press, will show how to use data to enhance your reporting; find the information to get you started; and identify newsworthy trends in the numbers. Gillum contributed to an award-winning 2011 USA Today series on suspicious student test score gains in Washington, D.C.

With the new school year upon us, don't miss these chances to continue your own education!

All the best,

Caroline Hendrie

Save the Date for 2012 Higher Ed Seminar

EWA is pleased to announce that the 2012 Higher Education Seminar will take place Nov. 2-3 in Indianapolis. This journalists-only meeting offers a great opportunity to dive into many of the key issues that will affect postsecondary education in the upcoming school year. You’ll get a chance to meet with fellow journalists and higher education experts from across the country, including those from the Indiana University School of Education and Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI), the hosts of this year's seminar.

EWA will provide a limited number of scholarships for reporters to attend the seminar, and the application form will be posted online soon. Watch for it, and if you've got questions in the meantime, please contact Kenneth Terrell at kterrell@ewa.org. 

Hit the Ground Running With Story Starters

Our most-viewed Story Starters sections this month are Campaigns & Elections, Charters & Choice and Higher Ed Finance, but these topics only scratch the surface of what this new, free resource has to offer. Learn about important reports and research, find sources and organizations, and learn how to ask the questions that lead to great coverage.

Need to get up to speed on School Climate & Safety, Standards & Testing, College Completion, or any one of Story Starters’ 24 distinct subject areas? Head to www.storystarters.org today and dive in!

This Week on Ed Beat: The ‘Gamification’ of Reading

Getting kids to read books ranks high on the list of challenges parents and teachers face. On the other hand, students embrace new technology—social networks, smartphones, gaming systems—at a pace adults can hardly keep up with. So why not try to use digital devices to incite a love of literacy in kids?

Help Is at Hand, When and How You Need It

If you need to workshop a story idea, contact EWA Public Editor Emily Richmond at erichmond@ewa.org. If you have an urgent need on a tight deadline, contact her by phone at 702-370-0017. The service is free and confidential.

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