EWA's 63rd National Seminar, San Francisco, California

Contest Deadlines Announced

 Image Source:  PacHD.com

2010 Education Research and Statistics Bootcamp
The Education Writers Association, along with the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University in Phoenix, offers an opportunity for reporters to explore education research, statistics and data-based reporting in depth. The bootcamp runs from Thursday, Feb. 25, to Sunday, Feb. 28. Hotel expenses and most meals will be covered, as well as up to $250 for airfare. Admission is by application only.

The Educated Reporter
Public Editor launches new blog

Campus Coverage Project

EWA, Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Student Press Law Center have announced a program to share investigative reporting skills with college and university students that they can apply to covering campus issues. Apply by Oct. 12.

EWA Remembers Sen. Edward Kennedy
Sen. Kennedy was the guest speaker for the 2002 Martin Buskin Lecture at EWA's annual meeting in Washington, D.C. He helped to formulate the No Child Left Behind legislation.

Date Change Call for Proposals for 2010 EWA National Seminar
We would like proposals on speakers, themes and panels for the annual conference, which will be held in San Francisco May 13-15.

How we did the story: Contest winners tell all
Winners in EWA's National Awards for Education Reporting describe how they went about putting together their prize-winning pieces.

State's school funding process is failing
Read this Los Angeles Times column written by Michael Hiltzik lamenting the lack of funding that California schools receive from the state. You can also read this New York Times story reported by Tamar Lewin on how deep budget cuts has affected the University of California system. November 20, 2009

Bridging the Gaps to Success: Promising Practices for Promoting Transfer Among Low-Income and First Generation Students
The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education examines the programs and policies that colleges have established to help low-income and first generation college students' ability to transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions.The report highlights the work being done in Texas community colleges which has high transfer rates among institutions. Chandra Taylor Smith, Abby Miller and C. Adolfo Bermeo, The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, Nov. 19, 2009

Ariz. universities aim to offer faster way to graduate
In an effort to move students through college faster and attract more adults, the state's three universities are looking for more ways to give students course credit for what they already know. The universities are expanding the number of exams they accept that allow students to test out of introductory college courses. The change means ambitious students could shave a semester or more off their tuition if they score high enough on multiple tests.Anne Ryman, The Arizona Republic, Nov. 17, 2009

Schools in the dark about tainted lunches
Students at Starbuck Middle School stumbled through the halls just after lunch on Oct. 31, 2007, holding their bellies and moaning. By midafternoon, almost 70 children waited outside the nurse's office at the school near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Days would pass before local health officials determined that the tortillas served at Starbuck and four other schools in Racine were to blame for 101 illnesses. The company, Del Rey Tortilleria, that supplied the tortillas had a long history of making children sick. A panel of top scientists with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration even offered this warning: "Flour tortillas manufactured by Del Rey hold the potential to cause illness." Despite the concerns, the FDA never shared the panel's warning with school officials anywhere. Blake Morrison and Peter Eisler, USA Today, November 17, 2009