Below are some of the media mentions and unsolicited testimonials we’ve received since Spring 2021, organized by topic:
MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY
February 5, 2021: On the Diving Deep Edu podcast, NYT Education Briefing writer Amelia Nierenberg highlighted Alexander Russo and The Grade as helpful to all education journalists by “nudging them to do their jobs better.”
The Times newsletter had previously included our weekly roundup in its recommended education newsletters.
COVERING COVID
Sept. 19, 2021: Journalist Marianna Limas linked to our Q&A with data journalist Betsy Ladyzhets on how to cover the science angle of COVID in schools in her Science Writing News Roundup newsletter.
Sept. 10, 2021: This NYC mother of three tweeted, “Thankful as a parent for @alexanderrusso who tirelessly asks data driven questions and provides much needed fact/science based perspectives about education reporting. We need more of this!”
SCHOOL REOPENING COVERAGE
Aug. 18, 2021: John Bailey, who previously served in the U.S. Department of Education, mentioned Alexander Russo’s column on alarmism in back-to-school coverage and said it contains “good advice” in his newsletter COVID-19 Policy Update.
June 14, 2021: The NJ Education Report republished Rebecca Bodenheimer’s column on AFT president Randi Weingarten’s political theater on school reopenings.
March 19, 2021: Choice Media selected a column by Alexander Russo on Jake Tapper’s softball interview with NEA head Becky Pringle as one of its 10 must-read education stories of the week.
COMMUNITY-BASED JOURNALISM
Aug. 18, 2021: In Poynter’s Local Edition newsletter, writer Kristen Hare linked to Amber C. Walker’s story on the Cleveland Documenters, a community-based effort to provide useful information to parents in areas where news coverage has dwindled.
Aug. 10, 2021: Veteran journalist Richard Prince, who writes the Journal-isms column, tweeted out Amber C. Walker’s story on the Cleveland Documenters.
Aug. 4, 2021: Journalism commentator and professor Jay Rosen tweeted out Amber C. Walker’s story on the Cleveland Documenters and included it in his newsletter for the Membership Puzzle Project.
Aug. 4, 2021: Nieman Lab mentioned Amber C. Walker’s story on the Cleveland Documenters in their “what we’re reading” section.
CRITICAL RACE THEORY COVERAGE
July 15, 2021: The PRESS RUN newsletter gave a shout-out to Alexander Russo’s advice for reporters covering the “critical race theory” controversy in schools, saying it contains “timely advice.”
July 1, 2021: The Maynard Institute linked to Alexander Russo’s column with advice on covering the “critical race theory” controversy in schools.
SCHOOL SPENDING COVERAGE
June 23, 2021: In his COVID-19 Policy Update newsletter, John Bailey linked to Marguerite Roza’s column on smart ways to cover the “year of ed finance.”
PUTTING PARENT VOICES AT THE CENTER
May 31, 2021: Marc Porter Magee linked to Alexander Russo’s column on how to make parent voices more central to education coverage in his 50CAN newsletter.
May 26, 2021: In response to Sarah Carpenter’s column on putting parents front and center, Twitter user Marilyn Muller tweeted that she is grateful for The Grade and Alexander Russo’s “extraordinary work to ensure education beat reporters are held to highest standards in journalism, and including key stakeholder voices — K-12 students and their parents.”
COVERING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING
April 28, 2021: SmartBrief co-published Justina Schlund’s column on five smart ways for journalists to cover social and emotional learning — and some strategies to avoid.
MISCELLANEOUS
April 20, 2021: In a story on high school admissions and education data, the Columbia Journalism Review linked to a 2017 piece in The Grade on NYC high school admissions.
March 26, 2021: Tulsa World embedded a tweet from Alexander Russo in their story about Tulsa Public Schools’ controversial inclusion in a U.S. Department of Education summit.
We’re grateful for all the positive feedback and constructive criticism we receive from our readers. Have something to say about our work? You can reach us at @thegrade_ on Twitter and directly at TheGrade2015@gmail.com. Thanks!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Grade
Launched in 2015, The Grade is a journalist-run effort to encourage high-quality coverage of K-12 education issues.
