Home
What Will ‘Back to Campus’ Mean? Analyzing Universities’ Plans for Reopening This Fall
While many schools are online-only, those returning in person get tough
Want to return to a college campus this fall? You’ll have to strictly follow tough rules. Fail to wear a mask or follow other strict safety requirements at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., and “you will be excised from the community. You will be voted off the island,” warned President Roslyn Artis.
But Is It Safe to Open Schools? Public Health Experts Weigh In
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown American education into turmoil. Questions abound on the safety of operating schools and colleges in person this fall (or later on), and the trade-offs for children and young people told to stay home.
Two public health experts will address a host of tough issues, and field your questions, during this EWA webinar on Wednesday, August 12, at 1 p.m. Eastern time.
DeVos’ Top Deputy: COVID-19 ‘Underscores’ Need for School Choice
US assistant education secretary James Blew also addresses testing waivers
If anything, the global pandemic has deepened U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s commitment to all forms of school choice, top deputy James Blew told reporters in a keynote question-and-answer session at the Education Writers Association’s 73rd National Seminar, held remotely in late July.
Educating During COVID: Superintendents and College Leaders Scramble to Fill Students’ New Needs
Solutions include more financial aid, free headphones and traffic light wifi hotspots.
Pedro Martinez, the superintendent of the San Antonio Independent School District, oversees the education of almost 50,000 students. Ninety percent live in poverty, he said, and half of the families in the district make less than $35,000 a year. Martinez described educating students, kindergarten through high school, who live in cramped homes without computers or internet connections since the pandemic hit in March.
The Future of School Police
Some school districts rethinking security guards and armed officers in wake of George Floyd death and protests of racial injustice (EWA Radio: Episode 242)
The tension over having armed police on public schools campuses isn’t new, but it’s moved back into the spotlight in recent months. In early June, the school board in Minneapolis — where George Floyd was killed during an arrest by the city’s police — voted unanimously to sever its ties with the city’s police department.
US Rep. Bobby Scott: ‘If You Can’t Open Schools Safely, Don’t’
Congressman details schools' planning, funding, and Republican discord during EWA interview
If schools can be opened safely, then do it. “If you can’t do it safely, you shouldn’t do it at all.” That’s the view of the Democratic congressman with the most clout in federal education policy.
U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, dismissed recent CDC guidelines that emphasize the importance of reopening schools in a Friday, July 24 webinar at the Education Writers Association’s National Seminar.
Here’s What You Missed at the 73rd National Seminar
Missed some of the sessions this week — or just want to relive some of the great moments? We’ve gathered some outstanding quotes from our speakers in this post.
Conference attendees can also watch video replays of most sessions on the conference site, and everyone can follow along on Twitter at #EWA20.
At These Christian Schools Getting Public Dollars, LGBTQ Students Pushed Into Conversion Therapy
New investigation finds academies receiving millions in taxpayer dollars are using the controversial practice with students with pseudoscientific conversion therapy (EWA Radio: Episode 241)
In a new investigation, The Huffington Post’s Rebecca Klein found disturbing examples of Christian schools that receive taxpayer dollars — through tax credit scholarship and voucher programs — that were requiring LGBTQ students to undergo “conversion therapy” in an attempt to change their sexual orientation. The controversial practice…
DACA Ruling Has Important Implications for Educators, Students
Find tips and resources to inform local coverage of decision's impact
The U.S. Supreme court today struck down a Trump administration effort to end protection from deportation for more than 650,000 young undocumented immigrants — including many educators and students. The action to prevent these individuals from legally living and working in the United States was “arbitrary and capricious,” the high court declared in its 5-4 ruling.
Schools, Universities Reconsider Police on Campus
George Floyd's killing prompts schools to shift resources to counselors, other forms of security
School districts and universities nationwide are reconsidering the use of law enforcement officers on campus after yet another unarmed black man died at the hands of police.
EWA Publishes Reporter Guide for Inclusive Coverage
Guide helps journalists cover students, communities of diverse backgrounds
Most schools are more diverse than the newsrooms that cover them. That means it’s highly likely an education journalist will interact with a student from a race, ethnicity, or faith different from their own.
Protest Stories Are Education Stories
Longtime radio journalist Adolfo Guzman-Lopez shares insights from the Southern California schools beat, and how to effectively cover the public response to George Floyd’s death
(EWA Radio: Episode 240)
For education reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez of KPCC, Southern California Public Radio, life has been “an emotional roller coaster” since he was shot in the throat by police with a rubber bullet. The incident happened May 31 in Long Beach, where Guzman-Lopez was covering a protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Covering Protests: Education Journalists’ Voices From the Field
'The protest stories are education stories'
Across the country, education reporters are out in the field covering community protests mounted in response to police brutality and the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
How Journalists Can Fact-Check Highly Emotional Stories
Misinformation on social media runs rampant during protests over George Floyd's death
Are left-leaning extremists inciting riots in Idaho? Is a Minnesota McDonald’s burning after protests? Did a protestor steal a Chicago police horse?
No, no and no. All of these claims — which were all shared widely on social media — are false. But in highly emotional situations like demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd, misinformation and disinformation can take on a life of its own on social media.
Here are several resources for combating misinformation in your reporting — and some examples of debunked stories.
Tools to Help Reporters Examine Their Racial Biases
Reporting guides and other materials to guard against unconscious bias
Among the biggest challenges journalists face these days: covering race issues accurately and fairly. Reporters not steeped in the subcultures they’re sent out to cover must especially guard against ways their own unconscious biases, or ignorance might cause them to unintentionally reinforce unwarranted stereotypes or even reinforce community traumas.
Below, we’ve gathered reporting guides; materials to help you acknowledge your privilege; books on racial inequities in schools; and places you can donate.
Word on the Beat: School Resource Officer
In wake of nationwide protests over George Floyd's death, role of school police is questioned
On June 2, the Minneapolis School Board voted unanimously to sever its ties with the city’s police department, which had provided training and oversight for its armed school resource officers. The decision came in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a city police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes during an arrest. Several officers involved in the incident now face felony charges.