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.
If you’re an inmate in Illinois, what educational programs are available to help you get your life back on track? That’s the question public radio reporter Lee Gaines set out to answer in an ongoing series. As part of an EWA Reporting Fellowship, Gaines looks at how severe budget cuts in Illinois, plus changes to eligibility for federal Pell Grant dollars, have reduced the number of prisoners earning postsecondary credentials and degrees.
Vimal Patel of The Chronicle of Higher Education for EWA
Most journalists covering universities focus
on undergraduate programs, even though, in many cases, the
graduate student population is larger and has a bigger
impact on the school’s financial health. So
graduate schools can be a trove of fresh, under-covered
story ideas, according to graduate student representatives and
researchers who spoke at the Education Writers Association’s 2019
National Seminar.
Only a
quarter of Americans can name the three branches of
government. Only a quarter of high school
seniors are “proficient” in civics, based on recent national
assessment results.
After a 10-year-old boy
died by suicide in the middle of doing his chores, reporter
Allison Ross was tapped to interview his grieving mother.
Ross struggled with how to share the Louisville family’s story
sensitively, without being sensational in her coverage for the
Courier-Journal newspaper.
School might be out, but that doesn’t mean education issues take a vacation: Two experienced education journalists offer compelling story ideas to beat the summertime blues. Delece Smith-Barrow of The Hechinger Report and Lauren Camera of U.S. News & World Report join this week’s podcast to discuss a wide range of national topics ripe for localized summer coverage.
School safety is an important part of every education
journalist’s beat, as states and districts invest billions in
preventative measures, including those intended to stop the next
campus shooting.
But how much of those investments are reactions to public
perceptions about potential risks rather than grounded in best
practices? And what questions should reporters ask when it
comes to not just the financial costs but also the potential
emotional toll such efforts take on students and staff?
It’s probably every reporter’s worst nightmare: Your co-worker
rushes over from the police scanner and blurts out, “Active
shooter at Such-and-Such School.”
When that happened to South Florida Sun-Sentinel education
reporter Scott Travis on Valentine’s Day 2018, “I headed there
hoping more than anything that this was a false alarm,” he told
EWA seminar attendees May 6. But he was headed to Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High School.
Kansas, like many states, is pouring millions of dollars into dual-credit programs, technical colleges and other initiatives aimed at preparing more students for the so-called “college economy,” where advanced training is a prerequisite for well-paying jobs. But are those investments paying off? In an eight-part series for the Kansas News Service, reporters Celia Llopis-Jepsen and Stephen Bisaha look at the state’s push to get more students into postsecondary programs, and to keep them from taking their highly desirable skill sets to employers in other states.
Mental health can influence all sorts of basic issues in
education, from test scores to attendance and school discipline.
Yet it’s a topic that education journalists often overlook.
That was the message of Steve Drummond, education editor and an
executive producer at NPR, who moderated the panel, “Mental
Health: A Hidden Crisis in Schools?” at this year’s EWA national
conference. NPR chronicled the problem in a 2016 package called
“A Silent Epidemic; The Mental Health Crisis in Our Schools.”
Leonard Ferguson is having the last laugh. A senior at the
Western School of Technology and Environmental Science in
Catonsville, Maryland, he’s on track to graduate this spring with
both a good job and his continuing education paid for.
Dan Berrett of The Chronicle of Higher Education for EWA
Many instructors still use traditional-style lectures despite
growing scientific evidence that less-passive approaches are more
effective in building students’ skills and knowledge. At the
Education Writers Association 2019 National Seminar, Harvard
professor Eric Mazur demonstrated to journalists how active
engagement – both inside and outside the classroom – stimulates
higher-order thinking and motivates students to learn.
Reporters can use Facebook to create communities, start
conversations, find story tips and sources, and build
their individual brands. Lynn Walsh, a veteran
reporter, walked journalists through ways to make the most
of Facebook at the Education Writers Association’s 2019 National
Seminar in Baltimore
When Prisoners Go to College
In Illinois, education programs for the incarcerated show strong results despite being underfunded
(EWA Radio: Episode 200)
If you’re an inmate in Illinois, what educational programs are available to help you get your life back on track? That’s the question public radio reporter Lee Gaines set out to answer in an ongoing series. As part of an EWA Reporting Fellowship, Gaines looks at how severe budget cuts in Illinois, plus changes to eligibility for federal Pell Grant dollars, have reduced the number of prisoners earning postsecondary credentials and degrees.
EWA Tip Sheet: How to Cover Graduate Schools
Most journalists covering universities focus on undergraduate programs, even though, in many cases, the graduate student population is larger and has a bigger impact on the school’s financial health. So graduate schools can be a trove of fresh, under-covered story ideas, according to graduate student representatives and researchers who spoke at the Education Writers Association’s 2019 National Seminar.
The State of Civics Education in 2019
We’ve all seen the startling statistics.
Only a quarter of Americans can name the three branches of government. Only a quarter of high school seniors are “proficient” in civics, based on recent national assessment results.
How to Better Understand and Cover Student Suicides
After a 10-year-old boy died by suicide in the middle of doing his chores, reporter Allison Ross was tapped to interview his grieving mother.
Ross struggled with how to share the Louisville family’s story sensitively, without being sensational in her coverage for the Courier-Journal newspaper.
Summer Story Ideas on the Education Beat
Tips for tapping national issues to fuel localized reporting
(EWA Radio: Episode 209)
School might be out, but that doesn’t mean education issues take a vacation: Two experienced education journalists offer compelling story ideas to beat the summertime blues. Delece Smith-Barrow of The Hechinger Report and Lauren Camera of U.S. News & World Report join this week’s podcast to discuss a wide range of national topics ripe for localized summer coverage.
The Financial and Emotional Costs of School Security
School safety is an important part of every education journalist’s beat, as states and districts invest billions in preventative measures, including those intended to stop the next campus shooting.
But how much of those investments are reactions to public perceptions about potential risks rather than grounded in best practices? And what questions should reporters ask when it comes to not just the financial costs but also the potential emotional toll such efforts take on students and staff?
Gun Violence in Schools and Communities: A Conversation With Journalists
It’s probably every reporter’s worst nightmare: Your co-worker rushes over from the police scanner and blurts out, “Active shooter at Such-and-Such School.”
When that happened to South Florida Sun-Sentinel education reporter Scott Travis on Valentine’s Day 2018, “I headed there hoping more than anything that this was a false alarm,” he told EWA seminar attendees May 6. But he was headed to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Can Kansas Keep Its Best Students?
Sunflower State students face realities of 'College Economy'
(EWA Radio: Episode 203)
Kansas, like many states, is pouring millions of dollars into dual-credit programs, technical colleges and other initiatives aimed at preparing more students for the so-called “college economy,” where advanced training is a prerequisite for well-paying jobs. But are those investments paying off? In an eight-part series for the Kansas News Service, reporters Celia Llopis-Jepsen and Stephen Bisaha look at the state’s push to get more students into postsecondary programs, and to keep them from taking their highly desirable skill sets to employers in other states.
Mental Health: A Hidden Crisis in Schools?
Mental health can influence all sorts of basic issues in education, from test scores to attendance and school discipline. Yet it’s a topic that education journalists often overlook.
That was the message of Steve Drummond, education editor and an executive producer at NPR, who moderated the panel, “Mental Health: A Hidden Crisis in Schools?” at this year’s EWA national conference. NPR chronicled the problem in a 2016 package called “A Silent Epidemic; The Mental Health Crisis in Our Schools.”
A School Where Career Training and Academics Go Hand in Hand
Popular magnet prepares youths for jobs in health sciences, plumbing and more
Leonard Ferguson is having the last laugh. A senior at the Western School of Technology and Environmental Science in Catonsville, Maryland, he’s on track to graduate this spring with both a good job and his continuing education paid for.
EWA Tip Sheet: How to Cover Instruction
Many instructors still use traditional-style lectures despite growing scientific evidence that less-passive approaches are more effective in building students’ skills and knowledge. At the Education Writers Association 2019 National Seminar, Harvard professor Eric Mazur demonstrated to journalists how active engagement – both inside and outside the classroom – stimulates higher-order thinking and motivates students to learn.
EWA Tip Sheet: Using Facebook to Report
Reporters can use Facebook to create communities, start conversations, find story tips and sources, and build their individual brands. Lynn Walsh, a veteran reporter, walked journalists through ways to make the most of Facebook at the Education Writers Association’s 2019 National Seminar in Baltimore