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EWA Tip Sheet: How to Cover Students’ Academic Recovery
Get background, tips and story ideas for covering academic recovery, and any resulting achievement gaps, at K-12 and higher education institutions.
More than two years into the pandemic, colleges and schools are trying to help students make up for lost instructional time.
What’s ahead on the path to academic recovery? Experts offered their perspectives on what reporters should look for and be mindful of during a session at the Education Writers Association’s 2022 National Seminar.
The panel agreed that students have a lot of ground to make up because of the disruption, though all students don’t have the same distance to go.
Emily Richmond Takes a Temporary Break As Public Editor. But EWA Radio Continues!
Emily is taking a leave of absence as EWA's public editor. She joins the Spencer Education Fellowship, a program run by Columbia University. Emily hands over the mic to Kavitha Cardoza, who's filling in for her this year. (EWA Radio Episode 297)
As Emily Richmond says goodbye (temporarily!), she looks into the early history of integration and present-day landscape of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), which serves nearly 67,000 students from military connected families at its campuses both in the U.S. and abroad.
Video: EWA Names 2021 Winners of the Moskowitz and Hechinger Prizes at the 75th National Seminar
Watch the speeches from major prize winners!
The Education Writers Association honored the winners of its major prizes at the 75th National Seminar on July 25, 2022.
The 2021 National Awards for Education Reporting major prize winners:
Video: Lunch Break With Ms. Joyce Abbott at EWA’s 75th National Seminar
The namesake for the ABC sitcom 'Abbott Elementary' discusses public education and more.
Ms. Joyce Abbott, the namesake for the ABC sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” joined the Education Writers Association’s 75th National Seminar on July 24, 2022.
In a Q&A during lunch time at the conference, Abbott discusses her remarkable career as an educator in Philadelphia and the current landscape for public education.
- Joyce Abbott, Philadelphia School District (retired)
- Erica Green, The New York Times (moderator)
Reporting on College Affordability? Keep 3 Lessons in Mind.
The Education Department’s James Kvaal speaks about the future of higher education and the Biden administration’s role.
As education journalists analyze new federal higher education proposals and the continuing public debate about student loan forgiveness, a panel featuring a top U.S. Department of Education official offers some lessons to keep in mind.
Covering Education in a Crisis
Two journalists discuss the challenges and rewards of working the education beat and how COVID-19 has changed things for them
This blog was republished with permission from The Wallace Foundation, which published it first. (Disclaimer: The Wallace Foundation is one of EWA’s sustaining funders.)
Was His Former Teacher a Sexual Predator? This Reporter Had to Find Out.
Matt Drange of Business Insider exposed two decades of questionable behavior by a Southern California teacher whose former female students say were groomed by him for sex. (EWA Radio Episode 296)
For senior correspondent Matt Drange of Business Insider, this was a reporting assignment like no other: investigating his former high school journalism teacher on allegations of sexual misconduct.
Revisiting America’s Reading Wars
As momentum builds to change reading instruction, Lucy Calkins, chief architect of popular method, retreats from prior stance
(EWA Radio Episode 295)
For decades, millions of children have been taught to read using a popular method that’s out of step with the scientific research on how our brains really learn. Amid pushback and criticism – including from researchers, parents, and education journalists – that’s starting to change.
EWA Announces 14th Class of Reporting Fellows
The Education Writers Association is pleased to welcome its 14th class of EWA Reporting Fellows. This program is part of the organization’s drive to support enterprising journalism that informs the public about consequential issues in education.
Education Journalist Kavitha Cardoza Joins EWA
EWA is delighted to announce an addition to our team: veteran education journalist Kavitha Cardoza. She will serve as public editor for a year while Emily Richmond is on leave for the Spencer Education Fellowship at Columbia University. Kavitha’s first day was June 1.
Emily Richmond, EWA’s public editor since 2011, will spend the 2022-23 academic year researching and reporting on the U.S. Department of Defense’s K-12 schools, which serve more than 67,000 students from military-connected families around the globe.
Covering Parent Activism and Engagement? Go Beyond Critical Race Theory
‘Sexy headlines’ about the latest education controversy often grab attention. Learn why reporters shouldn’t limit their coverage. Plus, get research and the history of parent engagement in education.
A new generation of parent activists has arrived, and its members are far more concerned with “ballot boxes, legislative agendas and school district policy priorities than bake sales,” according to a new report from the public policy think tank FutureEd.
Agenda: EWA 75th National Seminar
July 24-26, 2022
The Education Writers Association’s 75th anniversary National Seminar will provide a long-awaited opportunity for the community that cares about high-quality education journalism to gather in person for three days of networking, training and inspiration.
EWA Announces Finalists for 2021 National Awards for Education Reporting
May 18, 2022 (WASHINGTON, DC)—The Education Writers Association is pleased to announce the category finalists for the 2021 National Awards for Education Reporting, recognizing the top education journalism in the United States.
In a year featuring dramatic disputes over masking, vaccines, school closures, and diversity, finalists adroitly covered high-profile controversies ranging from efforts to address racism in schools to the way educators handled instruction during the pandemic.
Responsible Coverage of School Shootings
There’s a question I’m asked all too often, and one I wish I never, ever had another reason to answer: How should reporters approach covering school shootings?
Gun Violence in Schools and Communities: A Conversation With Journalists
It’s probably every reporter’s worst nightmare: Your co-worker rushes over from the police scanner and blurts out, “Active shooter at Such-and-Such School.”
When that happened to South Florida Sun-Sentinel education reporter Scott Travis on Valentine’s Day 2018, “I headed there hoping more than anything that this was a false alarm,” he told EWA seminar attendees May 6. But he was headed to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Does Money Matter? How Education Spending Affects Student Outcomes
What reporters should closely watch amid school spending initiatives and discussions
With school districts across the country seeing an unprecedented influx of federal aid to fuel the education recovery, the question remains of what impact these extra dollars will ultimately have on students.
School finance expert Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach of Northwestern University sees ample scholarly evidence that spending more improves outcomes for K-12 students.
Can the Latino College Gap Be Solved?
Texas Public Radio series sheds new light on sources of struggle for higher education students in majority Latino San Antonio, as well as innovative support systems that are making gains
(EWA Radio Episode 294)
For Texas student Andres Mendoza, the difference between fulfilling his dream of attending a four-year university away from home and opting for a lower-cost local community college was an unexpected bill for a family funeral.