NOVEMBER
After ‘Sold a Story,’ what comes next?
A ‘grab and go’ for education teams and journalists who want to jump on 2022’s hottest education topic, featuring tips from reporters who’ve shown us the best ways to cover the story.
Why the National Reading Panel report didn’t fix reading instruction 20 years ago
Veteran journalists including Claudio Sanchez, Greg Toppo, and Karin Chenoweth describe why the NRP report didn’t generate more sustained coverage that might have helped improve reading instruction. By Will Callan.
White media barely noticed when 100,000 Black educators were displaced
School districts are scrambling to hire Black educators, and news outlets are covering the story closely. But the author of a new bestseller tells us that mainstream media barely took notice when Black educators were displaced in the aftermath of the Brown decision. By Leslie Fenwick, PhD.
The school ‘red wave’ that didn’t happen
Cartoonish stories about a looming wave of conservative school board takeovers show that journalists need to guard against ‘catastrophizing’ the news — and to call out colleagues who fall prey to the habit.
Sources over stories
A local reporter shifts her approach to covering youth mental health. By Rory Linnane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Solutions stories that aren’t puff pieces
Finding unexpected examples, providing first-hand observations, and giving national context are all key to success, according to this veteran education journalist. By Kate Rix.
OCTOBER
How I missed the phonics story
A former education reporter reflects on how and why she didn’t connect low literacy scores to inadequate literacy instruction. By Patti Ghezzi.
Disgusted and demoralized, an education reporter left the beat he loved
In a frank interview, longtime education reporter Avi Wolfman-Arent describes the ambivalence and frustration that led him to leave the beat.
Diversity, innovation, and strength; how to fix coverage of rural higher education
Tired tropes about scarcity and backwardness obscure stories about diversity and innovation. By Nick Fouriezos
What education reporters should know about covering students in foster care
Six ways to help readers understand foster kids’ experiences in schools – without stereotyping them. By Colleen Connolly
Schools are ‘hugely dynamic places,’ says the Washington Post’s Eli Saslow
The star journalist explains how he reported his new story about a short-staffed Arizona school and the just-arrived international teacher who’s pushed to the brink by her new students.
