#CoveringCOVID19, a daily update from The Grade to help education journalists cover the COVID-19 crisis.
THE TOP FIVE
Five great education stories about how schools are responding to the COVID-19 crisis:
Imagine Online School in a Language You Don’t Understand – New York Times
Getting free internet is hard for poor students despite provider offers, survey finds – LA Times
Philly students without internet can do remote learning in parking lots, district says – Billy Penn
Shouldering the burden, one class at a time – The Philly Notebook
‘This Is Crazy’: 6 Kids, 1 Dog and a Mom With Covid-19 – New York Times
Homeless Families Face High Hurdles Home Schooling Their Kids – NPR
AN INCLUSIVENESS CHECKLIST FOR COVID COVERAGE
I’ve mentioned the importance of inclusiveness a few times in these daily updates. Above are five things for reporters and editors to consider to make that happen, based on five years of writing about education journalism.
Not all of these items are required for every story that you write or publish, and — just as an example — journalists of color can also fall prey to racial blind spots or stereotypes. However, these issues of inclusivity and representation come up again and again in education journalism, and COVID-related education coverage is no different.
The day’s best new education news stories are shared out every morning via @thegrade_. Then between 4 and 5 PM Eastern, the daily #coveringCOVID19 roundup comes out. You can find it here.
Above: Images of big groups of parked school buses are the new way to to depict shuttered school systems, notes MA’s Tracy O’Connell Novick.
COVID TIDBITS
Big thanks to WBEZ’s Kate Grossman and Chalkbeat’s Cassie Walker Burke for sharing their insights on covering the first week of remote learning in Chicago.
Thanks also to the Houston Chronicle’s Shelby Webb and Tulane’s Douglas Harris for their comments on how US schools have reopened after shutdowns, which are probably more relevant than how other nations are doing it.
“It took a high school science fair, George W. Bush, history lessons and some determined researchers to overcome skepticism and make it federal policy,” notes this New York Times story on the history of social distancing.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexander Russo
Alexander Russo is founder and editor of The Grade, an award-winning effort to help improve media coverage of education issues. He’s also a Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship winner and a book author. You can reach him at @alexanderrusso.
Visit their website at: https://the-grade.org/
