Since 2015, The Grade has published a series of first-person pieces and interviews in which reporters reflect on the challenges and opportunities involved in covering education issues. Some examples:
INTERVIEWS
De-tracking, school culture wars coverage, and ‘Monday-morning quarterbacking’ (Laura Meckler)
‘A gift’: covering school gun violence (John Woodrow Cox)
Complacency and inertia (Alec MacGillis)
FIRST-PERSON
‘Better stories’: student-centered schools coverage in Las Vegas (Lorraine Longhi)
Teaching an old education reporter some new tricks (John Mooney)
Covering communities that are not your own (Lee Romney, KALW)
Reflections on covering a hazing death at a Florida HBCU (Denise-Marie Ordway, former Orlando Sentinel)
On motherhood and education journalism (Lauren Camera, US News)
What it’s like being a rookie education reporter (Amber Walker, freelance)
I used to be an education reporter.’ (Dorie Turner Nolt, former Associated Press)
An unexpected ‘second act’ (Ann Doss Helms, WFAE)
Writing better stories about students with disabilities (Amy Silverman, freelance)
What’s missing from back-to-school news? (Kei-Sygh Thomas, freelance)
How to survive being laid off from your first newspaper job (Aaricka Washington, formerly of the Austin American Statesman)
Furlough journal (Linda Borg, Providence Journal)
- Day 2: Losing the newsroom
- Day 3: Missing the daily video calls
- Day 4: Connections lost and gained
- Day 5: Contemplating the future
Covering education in a unionized newsroom (Rachel Cohen, freelance)
Education and race: 9 journalists reflect
If you’re a journalist who’s interested in sharing your experiences, please reach out to Alexander Russo at alexanderrusso@gmail.com and tell him about your story.
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.
