The Education Writers Association is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2017 National Awards for Education Reporting and the Eddie Prize, recognizing the top education stories in online, print, and broadcast media across the country.

This year’s finalists — more than 50 entries — come from a wide range of news outlets. Some were produced by dogged solo reporters, others by new nonprofit journalism organizations, and many by traditional news institutions. The entries feature stellar writing, compelling multimedia and visuals, and nuanced storytelling.

“EWA is thrilled to recognize these exceptional stories and their important contributions to the conversation on education,” said Caroline Hendrie, EWA’s executive director. “Their work exemplifies the very best of our field as well as our collective commitment to journalism as a public service.”

The winners for each category will be announced on the first day of EWA’s 71st National Seminar, to be held May 16-18, 2018 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. On Thursday, May 17, EWA will announce the recipients of the three top awards: the Ronald Moskowitz Prize for Outstanding Beat Reporting ($2,500); the Edwin Gould Foundation’s Eddie Prize ($7,500); and the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting ($10,000).

There are at least two finalists in each of the 16 categories in EWA’s National Awards for Education Reporting, as well as for the Eddie Prize, which recognizes the best work on the challenges that low-income students face completing college.

The awards competition is being independently judged by more than 60 current and former editors and reporters, many of them past award-winners. No judge is reviewing an entry submitted by his or her current or recent employers. The top-prize winners will be selected by the combined scores of more than a dozen final-round judges.

EWA is grateful to the College Board for its generous support of the 2017 National Awards for Education Reporting, and to the Edwin Gould Foundation for its sponsorship of the Eddie Prize.

EWA would also like to thank and honor the judges who volunteered their time and expertise to score this year’s entries:

Eva-Marie Ayala, The Dallas Morning News

Stephanie Banchero, The Joyce Foundation

Kathryn Baron, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Dan Berrett, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Sarah Butrymowicz, The Hechinger Report

Kirk Carapezza, WGBH News (Boston)

Bill Celis, University of Southern California

Michael Alison Chandler, The Washington Post

Julie Chang, Austin American-Statesman

Nick Chiles, Author

Rose Ciotta, EdSource

Leah Clapman, PBS NewsHour

Sarah Cohen, Arizona State University

Trisha Crain, AL.com | Alabama Media Group

Martha Dalton, WABE (Atlanta)

Julie Deardorff, Northwestern University

Nichole Dobo, The Hechinger Report

Maureen Downey, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Margaret Downing, The Houston Press

Ron Feemster, Florida SouthWestern State College

Emmanuel Felton, The Hechinger Report

Kelly Field, Freelance

Cara Fitzpatrick, Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship, Columbia University

Larry Gordon, EdSource

Erica Green, The New York Times

Brandis Griffith-Friedman, Chicago Tonight | WTTW

Joe Grimm, Michigan State University

Natalie Gross, Military Times

Cornelia Grumman, Robert R. McCormick Foundation

Reeve Hamilton, Texas A & M University System

Beth Hawkins, The 74

Susan Headden, Lumina Foundation

Javier Hernández, The New York Times

Tawnell Hobbs, The Wall Street Journal

Laura Isensee, Houston Public Media

David Jesse, Detroit Free Press

Barbara Kantrowitz, Columbia University

Jane Karr, The New York Times (retired)

Karin Klein, Los Angeles Times (retired)

Rebecca Klein, HuffPost

Linda Lenz, Freelance

Kit Lively, KERA News (North Texas)

John Merrow, Author

Rob Messinger, Ohio State University

Dale Mezzacappa, Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Dan Mihalopoulos, Chicago Sun-Times

Kaitlin Mulhere, Money magazine

Mc Nelly Torres, Freelance

Denise-Marie Ordway, Harvard University

Teresa Prout, News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.)

Christopher Quinn, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gail Robinson, Freelance

Brian Rosenthal, The New York Times

Lauren Roth, Orange County (Fla.) Public Schools 

Gabrielle Russon, Orlando Sentinel

Amy Scott, American Public Media

Jeff Selingo, The Washington Post (contributor)

Linda Shaw, Solutions Journalism Network

Delece Smith-Barrow, The Hechinger Report

Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ki Sung, KQED Public Media for Northern California

Melissa Taboada, Austin American-Statesman

Kenneth Terrell, AARP

Greg Toppo, Inside Higher Ed

Peg Tyre, Edwin Gould Foundation

Maura Walz, KPCC | Southern California Public Radio

Ben Wildavsky, The College Board

Denise Zapata, EdSource