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EWA Tip Sheet: How to Tell If Your College Is Going Broke
By scrutinizing enrollment data, external financial pressures, operating revenue and expenses, and tuition discounting, reporters can start spotting red flags in the finances of public and private colleges they cover.
Participants who contributed to this advice:
Will Betsy DeVos Outlast All of Trump’s Cabinet Members?
Plus, what to watch for when presidential candidates talk education
(EWA Radio: Episode 223)
February 7 will mark the three-year anniversary of Betsy DeVos’ confirmation as the U.S. secretary of education. Few observers had bet she would stick around this long. But today, DeVos is one of the longest-serving members of President Trump’s cabinet. Rebecca Klein of The Huffington Post recently talked with dozens of people about the education secretary’s tenure, crafting an in-depth analysis of what motivates her decisions and keeps her on the job.
What Students of Color Need From Their Teachers
'Loving kids does not equal inclusivity,' educator says
In 1987, 13 percent of public school teachers were educators of color, according to national data. Three decades later, while the teacher workforce is more diverse, teachers are still mostly white. Meanwhile, more than half of the public school population today is students of color.
A Reporter’s Guide to Adolescent Learning and Well-Being
Berkeley, CA • February 27-28, 2020
“Although adolescence is often thought of as a time of turmoil and risk for young people, it is more accurately viewed as a developmental period rich with opportunity for youth to learn and grow,” declared a sweeping 2019 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
What are the implications of this evolving mindset for the education, health and well-being of tweens, teens and emerging adults? How are new findings informing efforts to shape settings for adolescents that are racially and culturally inclusive and equitable? This two-day journalist-only seminar will offer a primer on the brain research and springboard to an exploration of these questions and others facing the education and health sectors.
How to Write About Race Beyond Martin Luther King Jr. Day
These resources will help you address race responsibly in your coverage
Race issues get special attention in the news on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or during Black History Month. But race plays a role in every story journalists cover: where people live and work, who their friends and neighbors are, and — especially — what schools they attend.
Teachers Fight for Student Loan Debt Relief
NPR investigation finds thousands of borrowers wrongly denied federal forgiveness
(EWA Radio: Episode 217)
Two federal programs intended to steer college students toward public service jobs like teaching in high-poverty schools instead became mired in missteps, as recipients found their grants wrongly converted into high-interest loans. Cory Turner of NPR’s education team spent 18 months looking at problems with the TEACH Grant program.
EWA Tip Sheet: Covering the Student Loan Debt Crisis
A leading student debt researcher, the CEO of the nation’s biggest income share agreement company, and a veteran education reporter discuss the biggest concerns, misconceptions and stories to pursue when it comes to the country’s student loan debt crisis.
Covering Education Amid Threats of War or Terrorism
Veteran education journalists offer suggestions on working through national security threats
On the spectacular blue-skied morning of 9/11/2001, I was a staff writer for U.S News & World Report attending a not particularly exciting press conference a few blocks from the White House. Suddenly, someone burst into the room and announced “Our nation is under attack.” We all rushed outside, where thousands of office workers were milling in the streets because the government and all transportation had just been shut down. Warnings of a plane heading toward the White House (and, thus, us) sparked through the crowd like an electric arc.
Three Takeaways From Chicago’s Largest Charter School Network
At Noble campuses, it's 'college prep from the moment you walk in the door'
From the exterior, Muchin College Prep doesn’t look much like a high school. It’s located in an unremarkable office building in downtown Chicago, where an elevator carries visitors to the seventh-floor campus. There, the walls are festooned with college banners, classrooms are bustling with discussions and group work, and football helmets rest on top of a long row of lockers.
What’s Ahead on the Education Beat in 2020?
From school safety to the youth vote, it's going to be a busy year
As the calendar turns to a new year (and a new decade, at least according to some), plenty of education issues from 2019 will be tagging along.
Education and the 2020 Elections
The stakes are high for education in 2020. Not only is the White House in play this election season, but also control of the U.S. Congress and many state legislatures, plus 11 gubernatorial seats. In addition, voters will decide a host of local contests, including school board elections, that could shift educational priorities.
The Science of Reading and School Leadership
The newest round of test scores on NAEP, dubbed the “nation’s report card,” show that only about one-third of U.S. fourth and eighth graders are proficient in reading. The data come amid heightened concern that reading instruction is frequently out of step with decades of scientific research.
How Schools Are Responding to the ‘Collapse’ of the High School Economy
Schools help students prepare intentional postsecondary plans
Getting a good-paying job with just a high school diploma is nearly impossible today. In response, schools across the country are increasingly reassessing what it means to not only graduate students, but prepare them for a more competitive career field.
Those were two key takeaways from the opening session of a recent Education Writers Association seminar in Chicago.
EWA Announces Theme of 2020 National Seminar
The largest annual gathering of education writers will focus on Education, Journalism, and Democracy
The Education Writers Association is delighted to announce that “Education, Journalism, and Democracy” will be the theme of next spring’s National Seminar, and that we are welcoming suggestions for specific topics, speakers and training experiences to feature at EWA’s flagship annual conference.
The Hidden Costs of ‘Free’ College
Tennessee’s Promise Program opens access to community colleges but students still struggle
(EWA Radio: Episode 190)
To succeed in college, many students need support and services far beyond tuition assistance. That’s the big takeaway from The Tennessean’s investigation of the state’s Promise Program, which seeks to smooth the road to community college for new high school graduates. EWA Reporting Fellows Jason Gonzales and Adam Tamburin found that while there was a statistically significant increase in community college enrollment since the program’s inception in 2015, students still struggle with outside factors like a lack of preparedness for the rigors of college classes or needing to work to support themselves and their families.
Using Big Data for Education Story Ideas
How effective is your local school? Sure, test scores aren’t everything, but until recently, efforts to crunch achievement data to draw conclusions about school quality have been undermined by concerns about fairness: Are test scores measuring the effectiveness of the school, or just the wealth of the parents?