No time to attend an in-person seminar? Get your training on-demand with EWA's free online series. All of our past events are archived here, with new live events scheduled throughout the year.
No time to attend an
in-person seminar? Get your training on-demand
with EWA’s free online series. All of our past events are
archived here, with new live events scheduled throughout the
year.
After you’ve filed your back-to-school stories, get ready make
waves with some hard-hitting, data-based reporting this academic
year. If you’ve never parsed test scores, attendance numbers or
graduation rates, this webinar is a great place to start.
Jack Gillum, an investigative reporter with the Associated Press,
offers tips on how to use data to enhance your reporting; find
the information to get you started; and identify newsworthy
trends in the numbers. Gillum contributed to an award-winning
2011 USA Today series on suspicious student test score gains in
Washington, D.C.
For education reporters, coming up with fresh ideas for
back-to-school stories is an annual challenge. As part of EWA’s
Summer School Webinar series, we invite you to get some smart
tips from three veteran journalists who know how to mine the
beat, and avoid the ordinary. We discuss new ways of approaching
the first day of school, ideas for unique profiles, and how to
make the most of your publication’s multimedia resources.
So you’ve managed to get your hands on all the records your
school district keeps about its budget and spending. Now what?
How can you turn a giant data dump into a compelling story for
your readers?
In this EWA webinar, you’ll hear how reporters at the Dallas
Morning News used public records to create databases of district
spending and budget information, and how they used those
databases to uncover everything from fraud and mismanagement to
cozy vendor-employee relationships to the misuse of federal
grants.
All over the country, the year’s last school bell is ringing. But
now that it’s time for pool parties and summer camp, what happens
to the knowledge students gained during the school year?
Gary Huggins of National Summer Learning Association; Kathleen
Manzo of Education Week; and Katy Murphy of the Oakland Tribune
talk about how reporters can examine summer learning loss and how
to tell when schools and communities offer effective summer
school.
Community colleges are widely considered a critical link in the
nation’s continued economic recovery. As a result, the
open-access entry point to higher education is facing both
renewed scrutiny and higher expectations, with policymakers
demanding actual evidence of effectiveness.
This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will take on the issue of
affirmative action in college admissions for the first time since
2003. The plaintiff in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin
argues that her race was the deciding factor when she was denied
admission to the school. Regardless of the outcome, this case
will have major consequences for schools around the country for
years to come.
Elizabeth Laird, Director of Communications and External Affairs
for the Data Quality Campaign, provides an update on states’
progress toward collecting and using education data and reveals
the type of data and related reports available from your states.
She’ll especially concentrate on linking K-12 and postsecondary
data to explore issues like college and career readiness, college
remediation, and other topics.
Are you interested in freelancing, but don’t know how to get
started? Veteran journalist David McKay Wilson offers a primer
for reporters new to freelancing and those who want to learn the
ropes of this exciting career path. Wilson broke into journalism
as a freelancer for the Boston Phoenix and continued to freelance
over his 26-year career. He left Gannett’s The Journal News in
2007 after 21 years to launch a business that focuses primarily
on publications at institutions of higher education.
No one ever entered the journalism profession to crunch numbers,
but dealing with data is a crucial part of the education beat.
Holly Hacker, statistics guru and education reporter for the
Dallas Morning News, shows you the basics for understanding how
to effectively report on statistics.
From Maine to California, school districts are reporting
significant increases in the number of homeless students. Our
webinar takes a closer look at the underlying issues, and also
gives participants a blueprint for localizing this important
story. Our presenters will include Barbara Duffield, policy
director of the National Association for the Education of
Homeless Children; Pamela Hosmer, Program Manager for the San
Diego Unified School District’s Children and Youth in Transition
program; and Dr.
States love to brag when their SAT scores go up, and are quick to
offer reasons why they went down. How can reporters see through
the spin and put their states in context?
Holly Hacker, education reporter and stats guru at the Dallas
Morning News, explains some basic statistical concepts using
state SAT scores, showing you the biggest force driving those
scores to help effectively and fairly compare your state with all
the others.
While this webinar is focused on the SAT, these techniques are
applicable to many other education issues.
In advance of its 2011 State Teacher Policy Yearbook, the
National Council on Teacher Quality offers a closer look into
what is shaping up to be a critically important education policy
trend. Across the nation states are engaged in create teacher
evaluation systems to provide meaningful information about
teacher performance, based in significant ways on student
achievement, and tying information on teacher effectiveness to
decisions of consequence about tenure, compensation, professional
development and advancement.
Diving into Data: Requesting (and Analyzing) Public School Numbers
53 minutes
After you’ve filed your back-to-school stories, get ready make waves with some hard-hitting, data-based reporting this academic year. If you’ve never parsed test scores, attendance numbers or graduation rates, this webinar is a great place to start.
Jack Gillum, an investigative reporter with the Associated Press, offers tips on how to use data to enhance your reporting; find the information to get you started; and identify newsworthy trends in the numbers. Gillum contributed to an award-winning 2011 USA Today series on suspicious student test score gains in Washington, D.C.
Back To School: Finding Fresh Angles on Familiar Ground
1 hour
For education reporters, coming up with fresh ideas for back-to-school stories is an annual challenge. As part of EWA’s Summer School Webinar series, we invite you to get some smart tips from three veteran journalists who know how to mine the beat, and avoid the ordinary. We discuss new ways of approaching the first day of school, ideas for unique profiles, and how to make the most of your publication’s multimedia resources.
Follow the Money: What’s Hiding In Your School District’s Spending?
56 minutes
So you’ve managed to get your hands on all the records your school district keeps about its budget and spending. Now what? How can you turn a giant data dump into a compelling story for your readers?
In this EWA webinar, you’ll hear how reporters at the Dallas Morning News used public records to create databases of district spending and budget information, and how they used those databases to uncover everything from fraud and mismanagement to cozy vendor-employee relationships to the misuse of federal grants.
Summer Idyll — or Idle? Story Ideas for Journalists
58 Minutes
All over the country, the year’s last school bell is ringing. But now that it’s time for pool parties and summer camp, what happens to the knowledge students gained during the school year?
Gary Huggins of National Summer Learning Association; Kathleen Manzo of Education Week; and Katy Murphy of the Oakland Tribune talk about how reporters can examine summer learning loss and how to tell when schools and communities offer effective summer school.
Community College Outcomes: Advance Look at New Digital Resource for Tracking Student Progress
38 minutes
Community colleges are widely considered a critical link in the nation’s continued economic recovery. As a result, the open-access entry point to higher education is facing both renewed scrutiny and higher expectations, with policymakers demanding actual evidence of effectiveness.
Deciding Diversity: The Supreme Court Reconsiders Affirmative Action
53 minutes
This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will take on the issue of affirmative action in college admissions for the first time since 2003. The plaintiff in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin argues that her race was the deciding factor when she was denied admission to the school. Regardless of the outcome, this case will have major consequences for schools around the country for years to come.
Mining the Data: What States Have and Where to Find It
58 minutes
Elizabeth Laird, Director of Communications and External Affairs for the Data Quality Campaign, provides an update on states’ progress toward collecting and using education data and reveals the type of data and related reports available from your states. She’ll especially concentrate on linking K-12 and postsecondary data to explore issues like college and career readiness, college remediation, and other topics.
Freelancing 101: How to Thrive as an Independent Education Writer
1 hour
Are you interested in freelancing, but don’t know how to get started? Veteran journalist David McKay Wilson offers a primer for reporters new to freelancing and those who want to learn the ropes of this exciting career path. Wilson broke into journalism as a freelancer for the Boston Phoenix and continued to freelance over his 26-year career. He left Gannett’s The Journal News in 2007 after 21 years to launch a business that focuses primarily on publications at institutions of higher education.
Do the Math: Outsmarting Statistics
No one ever entered the journalism profession to crunch numbers, but dealing with data is a crucial part of the education beat. Holly Hacker, statistics guru and education reporter for the Dallas Morning News, shows you the basics for understanding how to effectively report on statistics.
Homeless Students: Covering the School Safety Net
1 Hour, 3 minutes
From Maine to California, school districts are reporting significant increases in the number of homeless students. Our webinar takes a closer look at the underlying issues, and also gives participants a blueprint for localizing this important story. Our presenters will include Barbara Duffield, policy director of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children; Pamela Hosmer, Program Manager for the San Diego Unified School District’s Children and Youth in Transition program; and Dr.
Behind the Numbers: What the SAT Scores Really Say
49 minutes
States love to brag when their SAT scores go up, and are quick to offer reasons why they went down. How can reporters see through the spin and put their states in context?
Holly Hacker, education reporter and stats guru at the Dallas Morning News, explains some basic statistical concepts using state SAT scores, showing you the biggest force driving those scores to help effectively and fairly compare your state with all the others.
While this webinar is focused on the SAT, these techniques are applicable to many other education issues.
Teacher Evaluations: A State-by-State Overview and Lessons From Early Adopters
1 hour 3 minutes
In advance of its 2011 State Teacher Policy Yearbook, the National Council on Teacher Quality offers a closer look into what is shaping up to be a critically important education policy trend. Across the nation states are engaged in create teacher evaluation systems to provide meaningful information about teacher performance, based in significant ways on student achievement, and tying information on teacher effectiveness to decisions of consequence about tenure, compensation, professional development and advancement.