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How Schools Are Responding to Vaping Health Concerns
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that children (under the age of 18) make up 14 percent of the 2,051 cases of lung illnesses connected to vaping.
EWA Opens Entries for 2019 Education Reporting Awards
Journalists Working in All Media Invited to Compete
The Education Writers Association is pleased to announce the launch of the 2019 National Awards for Education Reporting. Journalists may submit entries from 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Nov. 15 through midnight Pacific time on Dec. 15, 2019.
Journalists who have published work in 2019 on any education topic in any medium are encouraged to enter the contest, which features a total of 20 prizes with cash awards ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
If DACA Ends, What Happens to Students and Schools?
Final decision pending after U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on program for undocumented children
(EWA Radio: Episode 138)
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging President Trump’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). The program has temporarily protected some 800,000 immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children from being deported. While a key focus is college-age students who fear deportation, ending DACA has significant repercussions for the K-12 school community as well. In this 2017 episode of EWA Radio, soon after Trump announced his plans to unwind DACA, Corey Mitchell of Education Week and Katie Mangan of The Chronicle of Higher Education discussed the potential implications.
Why Impeachment Is a Teachable Moment
As President Trump faces a congressional impeachment inquiry, teachers and education journalists share similar challenges to explain and inform
(EWA Radio: Episode 221)
Unlike long-running controversies over topics such as gun control or immigration policy, it’s been 20 years since the nation was roiled by efforts to impeach a sitting president. That gives today’s civics teachers a unique opportunity to help students connect historical and current events, explains Stephen Sawchuk of Education Week.
EWA Announces New Class of Reporting Fellows
The Education Writers Association is pleased to announce its eighth class of EWA Reporting Fellows as part of the organization’s ongoing efforts to support ambitious journalism projects that inform the public on important issues in education.
“Enterprising coverage of education by independent journalists has never been more important, and EWA is proud to play a role in supporting their work,” said Caroline Hendrie, EWA’s executive director. “We are delighted to help make possible in-depth reporting by our members.”
Using Tuition Tracker to Strengthen Your College Affordability Reporting
Rising college tuition continues to be one of the most important stories that education journalists cover. But fact-checking exactly what price a college charges can be surprisingly difficult. At many schools, for example, almost no students pay the “sticker price” posted on the website.
How To Cover a Teachers’ Strike
A reporter shares tips on cultivating sources, asking good questions, developing fresh angles
(EWA Radio: Episode 165)
With Chicago teachers on the picket lines this fall — and labor actions in recent months in smaller school districts in California, Colorado, and Washington — hear how Ben Felder of The Oklahoman reported on a statewide walkout by educators in 2018. Like their counterparts in West Virginia and Kentucky, teachers in the Sooner State were seeking more than bigger paychecks; they also aimed to draw attention to funding shortfalls for public schools statewide.
Word on the Beat: NAEP
What reporters need to know about the 'nation's report card'
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, new achievement data in math and reading will be released for the nation’s 4th and 8th graders. Alongside the national snapshot will be state-by-state results, plus scores for 27 urban school systems participating in a pilot program. The NAEP report will reveal trends over time, plus offer breakdowns by race, ethnicity, poverty, and other factors. Here’s what reporters need to know about the assessment and its implications.
Education and the American Dream: Pathways From High School to College and Careers
Northwestern University • November 14-15, 2019
What will it take to make the U.S. education system a more powerful engine for economic mobility? What are the obstacles, especially for low-income families and students of color?
At this journalists-only seminar on Nov. 14-15 in Chicago, we will explore these and other questions, with a special focus on emerging efforts to create stronger pathways from high school to college and promising careers.
What School Choice Means in Rural Mississippi
The ugly history of ‘segregation academies’ hangs over community’s first charter school
(EWA Radio: Episode 220)
In rural Clarksdale, Mississippi, the phrase “school choice” has a different meaning, as it brings to mind the segregation academies set up by white families opposed to federally mandated school integration. Writing for The Hechinger Report, Danielle Dreilinger spent time in Clarksdale — known as the birthplace of the Blues — which recently got its first charter school, serving an almost all-black student population.
Soft Skills Training Teaches Electricians to Fix Fuses, Not Blow Them
Community colleges award budding trades workers badges in empathy
Sure, a plumber should be able to stop a leak or fix a toilet. Those job skills are essential, and easily measured.
But what about the rest of the equation — the people skills customers also want? How does an employer really know if an applicant has what it takes? Can’t there be a test or something?
Career Center
Find new career opportunities for education reporters and communications professionals. Looking for an experienced education writer for your next project? Post your listing now!
Educating the ‘Whole Child’ Is Complex. Will Schools Get It Right?
Recipe blends academics with SEL, character development
The idea that education isn’t simply about academics is nothing new. But efforts are mounting to promote a better balance in schools, to more explicitly address students’ social and emotional learning (SEL), build strong character, and foster civic responsibility.
The terminology varies, but the broad concept is sometimes referred to as “educating the whole child.” What’s it all about? What’s driving the increased interest and attention? And are public schools today really equipped to deliver this expansive vision of education?
A Reality Check for Boston’s Valedictorians
The Boston Globe investigates K-12 and higher ed shortfalls in preparation and support for local students
(EWA Radio: Episode 195)
Ever wonder what happened to your high school’s valedictorian after graduation? So did The Boston Globe, which set off to track down the city’s top students from the classes of 2005-07. Globe reporters Malcolm Gay and Meghan Irons learned that a quarter of the nearly 100 valedictorians they located failed to complete college within six years. Some had experienced homelessness. Many have struggled in lower-skilled jobs than they had aspired to. What went wrong? To what extent did their high school education fail to prepare them? What should colleges do to better support students? Gay and Irons discuss their project, tell the stories of individual valedictorians, and share tips for journalists looking to undertake similar reporting in their own communities.
The Fight to Fix Reading Instruction
New documentary looks at science of literacy, debunked theories, and the ongoing debate over what works best
(EWA Radio: Episode 219)
In a new documentary for APM Reports, Emily Hanford digs into the disconnect between the cognitive science on learning to read and the instructional methods being used to teach millions of U.S. students. Among her findings: a popular technique is based on a flawed idea that researchers say may actually be holding back kids from becoming skilled readers.
Paul Tough on Why College Years ‘Matter Most’
New book offers deep dive into social mobility, inequality in higher education
(EWA Radio: Episode 218)
In his new book, “The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes Us or Breaks Us,” author Paul Tough looks at inequities in access to high-quality higher education, specifically, the opportunity to earn degrees that research says lead to high-paying jobs, social mobility, and according to some research, better health and a longer life.
Presidential Candidates Face the Charter Schools Test
In September 2008, with polls showing him in a statistical dead heat with Republican presidential nominee John McCain, Barack Obama proposed doubling the federal funding for charter schools. As president, Obama was a champion of charters and also used mechanisms such as his Race to the Top education initiative to spark their expansion.
No Forgiveness: Teachers Struggle With Unfair Student Loan Debt
Two federal programs under scrutiny, as thousands of borrowers caught in administrative missteps
(EWA Radio: Episode 217)
Two federal programs that were supposed to steer college students to public service jobs like teaching in high-poverty schools instead became mired in missteps, as the recipients unexpectedly 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, and his findings helped spur the U.S. Department of Education to reverse course.