EWA's blog about education issues and topics from a journalist's perspective. The Educated Reporter is anchored by Emily Richmond with contributions from EWA staff and guests.
EWA’s blog about education issues and topics from a journalist’s
perspective. The Educated Reporter is anchored by Emily Richmond with contributions
from EWA staff and guests.
Three times, the Trump administration has tried to ax federal
funding for after-school and summer learning programs, and three
times Congress has responded by adding more money to the pot.
Most recently, the U.S. House, where Democrats hold a majority,
approved a $100 million increase for the 21st Century Community
Learning Centers initiative—the primary source of federal funds
for local after-school and summer learning programs. That line
item, which stills needs approval from the Republican-led
Senate, would primarily support activities during the
2020-21 school year.
Across the country, the way most students are being taught to
read is out of step with more than 40 years of scientific
research on how children learn this essential skill. That’s the
case being made in an award-winning radio documentary from APM
Reports’ Emily Hanford, who describes the devastating domino
effect of inadequate literacy instruction on students’ academic
progress and opportunities.
Education reporters, alas, are increasingly experienced in
covering violence directed at students, teachers and school
staff.
This weekend’s mass shootings added to the horrible list.
In El Paso, the gunman apparently targeted
Latino families doing their back-to-school shopping at a
Walmart. Among the victims: parents and other relatives who
shielded children, and at least one teacher.
For education journalists, talking with teachers isn’t optional.
It’s an essential element of the job, and a key component of many
stories we report.
But the voices we find for stories often rely on the luck of the
draw — the teachers who show up at school board meetings to
protest a policy change, the ones we encounter pulling lunch duty
on the day we’re touring the cafeteria, the most prodigious
tweeters — and those who seek out journalists to share important
information.
When Baltimore City Public Schools placed current education data
on a map of the city’s historic racial redlining, it was apparent
that not much had changed, as district CEO Sonja Brookins
Santelises tells the story. The segregated neighborhoods created
in part by policies that barred predominantly black communities
from federally subsidized mortgages were the same neighborhoods
that today showed lower academic outcomes.
Santelises said those findings motivated her district to take a
closer look at what kind of opportunities it provides students.
Like many states, Colorado has set an ambitious goal for boosting the number of citizens with advanced degrees and credentials, all with an eye toward filling high-need jobs in areas like health care and manufacturing. In a five-part series, EWA Reporting Fellow Stephanie Daniel of KUNC (Northern Colorado Community Radio) looks at how the Rocky Mountain state is trying to do that:
During an assembly at the high school where she was principal,
Liz Dozier once asked 1,000-plus students if they knew someone
who had been shot.
Every single student raised a hand.
“When I first got to the school, I didn’t understand all the
effects of trauma — I just knew that our school was in crisis,”
Dozier said. “The whole ecosystem that we had set up around kids
was dysfunctional.”
Do students in the nation’s second-largest district feel their communities are portrayed fairly in media coverage of homicides near schools? As part of her project on teens’ challenges navigating a safe path to schools, education reporter Sonali Kohli asked students critique news stories. She also crunched the data, finding surprising examples where the reality contradicted perceptions of the “most dangerous” schools.
For years, kicking students out of school was a common discipline
move for administrators. Now, suspending students, a practice
that disproportionately affects black and Hispanic youngsters, is
out of favor, as educators work to respond to bad behavior
without cutting off educational opportunities.
But the change hasn’t been easy, and many educators are still
grappling with how to handle discipline problems in ways that
don’t hurt students’ education, according to a panel at the
Education Writers Association’s annual conference this spring in
Baltimore.
Students and workers looking to quickly advance their careers are
beginning to seek shorter and cheaper alternatives to traditional
college degrees. And colleges, worried about a decline in
the number of “traditional” freshmen, are creating alternative
programs to attract new tuition-payers.
The question of which students should win admission to selective
colleges is so heated that it has sparked state legislation,
discrimination lawsuits and a celebrity-studded bribery scandal.
So news that the College Board had been providing admissions
officers data on the kind of “adversity”
to which applicants had been exposed couldn’t help
but stir controversy.
In the midst of legal and political battles over preferences
given to different kinds of college applicants, news broke that
the College Board has been experimenting with providing
college admissions officers with what some have called an
“adversity score” for each applicant to, potentially, give
admissions boosts to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Threatened But Still Standing: The Federal Program for After-School, Summer Learning
Despite Trump's attempts to eliminate it, bipartisan support persists
Three times, the Trump administration has tried to ax federal funding for after-school and summer learning programs, and three times Congress has responded by adding more money to the pot.
Most recently, the U.S. House, where Democrats hold a majority, approved a $100 million increase for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative—the primary source of federal funds for local after-school and summer learning programs. That line item, which stills needs approval from the Republican-led Senate, would primarily support activities during the 2020-21 school year.
Why Is Reading Instruction So Controversial?
In award-winning documentary, APM Reports' Emily Hanford digs into the roots of nation's literacy challenges
(EWA Radio: Episode 181)
Across the country, the way most students are being taught to read is out of step with more than 40 years of scientific research on how children learn this essential skill. That’s the case being made in an award-winning radio documentary from APM Reports’ Emily Hanford, who describes the devastating domino effect of inadequate literacy instruction on students’ academic progress and opportunities.
Resources for Covering Hate, Shootings and Trauma
Journalists share advice on interviewing children and writing about race.
Education reporters, alas, are increasingly experienced in covering violence directed at students, teachers and school staff.
This weekend’s mass shootings added to the horrible list. In El Paso, the gunman apparently targeted Latino families doing their back-to-school shopping at a Walmart. Among the victims: parents and other relatives who shielded children, and at least one teacher.
Teachers Have Plenty to Say About School Discipline and Climate. Who’s Listening?
New polls gauge public support, awareness of education issues
For education journalists, talking with teachers isn’t optional. It’s an essential element of the job, and a key component of many stories we report.
But the voices we find for stories often rely on the luck of the draw — the teachers who show up at school board meetings to protest a policy change, the ones we encounter pulling lunch duty on the day we’re touring the cafeteria, the most prodigious tweeters — and those who seek out journalists to share important information.
Redrawing the Map for Student Success
When Baltimore City Public Schools placed current education data on a map of the city’s historic racial redlining, it was apparent that not much had changed, as district CEO Sonja Brookins Santelises tells the story. The segregated neighborhoods created in part by policies that barred predominantly black communities from federally subsidized mortgages were the same neighborhoods that today showed lower academic outcomes.
Santelises said those findings motivated her district to take a closer look at what kind of opportunities it provides students.
Can a State Help More Residents Finish College?
With 75 percent of the state’s jobs requiring postsecondary credentials, Colorado looks to boost college and career training
(EWA Radio: Episode 213)
Like many states, Colorado has set an ambitious goal for boosting the number of citizens with advanced degrees and credentials, all with an eye toward filling high-need jobs in areas like health care and manufacturing. In a five-part series, EWA Reporting Fellow Stephanie Daniel of KUNC (Northern Colorado Community Radio) looks at how the Rocky Mountain state is trying to do that:
Want Safer Schools? It Takes Human Capital.
Counselors, school resource officers, educators play key roles, experts say
During an assembly at the high school where she was principal, Liz Dozier once asked 1,000-plus students if they knew someone who had been shot.
Every single student raised a hand.
“When I first got to the school, I didn’t understand all the effects of trauma — I just knew that our school was in crisis,” Dozier said. “The whole ecosystem that we had set up around kids was dysfunctional.”
Want to Know What Students Think of Your Reporting? Ask Them.
Los Angeles Times asks teens for feedback on coverage of homicides near campuses
(EWA Radio: Episode 205)
Do students in the nation’s second-largest district feel their communities are portrayed fairly in media coverage of homicides near schools? As part of her project on teens’ challenges navigating a safe path to schools, education reporter Sonali Kohli asked students critique news stories. She also crunched the data, finding surprising examples where the reality contradicted perceptions of the “most dangerous” schools.
School Discipline Reform: Easier Said Than Done?
For years, kicking students out of school was a common discipline move for administrators. Now, suspending students, a practice that disproportionately affects black and Hispanic youngsters, is out of favor, as educators work to respond to bad behavior without cutting off educational opportunities.
But the change hasn’t been easy, and many educators are still grappling with how to handle discipline problems in ways that don’t hurt students’ education, according to a panel at the Education Writers Association’s annual conference this spring in Baltimore.
EWA Tip Sheet: Covering College Certificates and Microcredentials
Here are resources for understanding non-degree higher education alternatives.
Students and workers looking to quickly advance their careers are beginning to seek shorter and cheaper alternatives to traditional college degrees. And colleges, worried about a decline in the number of “traditional” freshmen, are creating alternative programs to attract new tuition-payers.
Word on the Beat: Adversity Score
What reporters need to know about the College Board's experimental "Environmental Context Dashboard"
The question of which students should win admission to selective colleges is so heated that it has sparked state legislation, discrimination lawsuits and a celebrity-studded bribery scandal. So news that the College Board had been providing admissions officers data on the kind of “adversity” to which applicants had been exposed couldn’t help but stir controversy.
College Board Explains ‘Environmental Context Dashboard’
In this on-the-record interview, David Coleman objects to the term "adversity score."
In the midst of legal and political battles over preferences given to different kinds of college applicants, news broke that the College Board has been experimenting with providing college admissions officers with what some have called an “adversity score” for each applicant to, potentially, give admissions boosts to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.