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Event June 1-4, 2023

76th National Seminar Register Here

We will hold our flagship conference for education reporters and communicators in Atlanta. We will examine the history of civil rights in education, and we will look ahead. Register today! Qualified journalists and students can apply for scholarships.

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Data & Research Tips

EWA Tip Sheet: How to Find College Trends and Raw Data

Need to understand how to quickly find college trends and raw data to cover the story? Scott Smallwood walks education writers through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database.

Educated Reporter

A male college student holds a credit card and his cellphone as he sits at his computer desk.

How External Factors Affect Student Debt Repayment

Millions of Americans are carrying burdensome student loan debt, but what other factors are preventing their upward mobility? Experts break it down, from racial/gender disparities and wealth gaps to rising tuition costs and inflation.

Educated Reporter How to Cover the Story

Responsible Coverage of School Shootings

There’s a question I’m asked all too often, and one I wish I never, ever had another reason to answer: How should reporters approach covering school shootings?

Early Learning Elementary School Middle School High School

School Safety & Security

School is one of the safest places for children and adolescents to spend their days. Even so, risks still exist, whether that involves bullying, fights, bomb threats or armed campus intruders

Educated Reporter How to Cover the Story

A Black girl stands in front of a Black History month display at Sutton Middle School in Atlanta. The display features iconic Black leaders, from Ida B. Wells to Aretha Franklin and Ryan Coogler.

Reporting After Black History Month

Journalists discuss covering Black people holistically throughout the year, not just in February, and connecting the past with today’s issues, such as Florida’s ban of Advanced Placement African American studies. A teacher also shares how she answers student questions about Black history. Plus, get tips to improve your reporting.

Educated Reporter Story Ideas

A group of college students walk down stairs and speak with each other outside their school.

Are Community College Funding Models Incentives for Change?

More than 30 states fund higher education via an approach called “performance-based funding." Lawmakers seek to ensure institutional accountability, such as college completion and evidenced-based improvements in disadvantaged student groups. Learn about the funding model, its possible pros and cons, and how it has been explored in Ohio and Texas. Plus, get three story ideas from experts.

Educated Reporter How to Cover the Story

A Black college student looks for a book shelved in a campus library. He is surrounded by book stacks.

Reporting on the Real-World Impact of HBCUs

Historically Black Colleges and Universities are the epitome of “The Little Engine That Could.” They boost their local economies, yet they have been underfunded for decades by federal and state governments. Experts provide funding solutions, ask reporters to carefully consider their coverage, and illustrate genuine campus experiences.

How to Cover the Story News Explainers

A Black female elementary school student walks toward her school bus. A school administrator stands next to the bus, watching as she boards the bus.

Who Gets a School Choice? Reporting Tips to Unlock the Complexities

How did the school-choice movement get to where it is today? Alina Tugend explains the history, advises reporters on modern challenges, and details why school vouchers and voucher-like programs became ripe for national debate.

Data & Research Tips Educated Reporter

Corporal Punishment in Schools: Research and Reporting Tips

Two scholars offer guidance on covering school corporal punishment, which can result in serious injuries and has, for years, been used disproportionately on Black students and children with disabilities.

Higher Ed Retraining

Student Loans

About 44 million people in the U.S. owe on student loans. At more than $1.5 trillion, education debt now exceeds our credit card balances and auto loans

Latino Ed Beat News Explainers

Immigrant Student Pain Points: What to Know

Learn how to stay on top of curriculum and content changes amid critical race theory debates and partisan politics. Additionally, get tips from a South Dakota reporter who shares how she covered the story.

Educated Reporter

A mixed-race college students stands outside the doors of a college building. She attempts to open the double doors.

Politics and Perceptions: Are Colleges Alienating Students?

Learn about public attitudes toward higher ed and how politics is shaping perceptions. Also, consider whether your local institution is welcoming to all students and providing them the support necessary to succeed.

Educated Reporter How to Cover the Story Story Ideas

Examining HBCUs During Black History Month

From Jan. 1 to Feb. 22 in 2022, Nexis listed a total of 89 articles that included “HBCU” and “bomb threats.” Only 29 articles mentioned “HBCU” and “enrollment” during the same time period.

Career & Technical Education Higher Ed Retraining

Male teacher helps male student with engineering project.

Newsroom Culture: Covering and Editing Diverse CTE Stories

Jason Gonzales discusses his experiences reporting on the intersection of CTE and race as a journalist of color and provides reporting tips.

Career & Technical Education Higher Ed Retraining

Two teenagers assemble a robot at their school.

CTE: Basic Education Reporting Tips

Charlotte West provides tips to help you get started on your next CTE story: Start with the data/research, look beyond college, realize that CTE isn’t always what you think it is, and examine trends.

Career & Technical Education Higher Ed Retraining

A high school boy and girl work on a chemistry experiment during class.

CTE Explainer

Examine career and technical education closely, such as an expanded look into its origins, racial/gender disparities, teacher shortages, recruitment/retention efforts, and credentials.

Data & Research Tips How to Cover the Story

Three children of different ethnicities sit at a long desk and focus doing their schoolwork on laptop computers.

How to Cover Student Achievement Losses and Full Pandemic Recovery

Natalie Pate helps journalists understand and make the most of the Education Recovery Scorecard. This database compares student achievement losses amid COVID-19 and shows which student groups were most affected by disrupted learning at the local level. Data on 29 states (more to come) and the District of Columbia can be accessed.

Member Spotlight

Member Spotlight: How an Independent Journalist Is Challenging Perceptions of Minnesota

Getting fired from a marketing job became the catalyst for Alec Fischer to create his own media company in Minneapolis. Now he’s the awards-winning filmmaker of “Covid Confessions,” which includes a segment on teachers. Fischer shares his independent filmmaking journey with EWA’s Asia Allen.

Data & Research Tips Educated Reporter Story Ideas

9 Lessons a Reporter Learned Covering Prison Education

Charlotte West writes about incarcerated students and college-in-prison programs for Open Campus. After growing her beat over the last year, Charlotte shares what she learned, explains Pell Grant expansion for prisoners, and offers story ideas and resources.

Educated Reporter How to Cover the Story

How to Find Stories in Arts Education

Arts education contributes to overall student achievement and well-being. But not every student has access, including those who are Black, Latino and low-income. Dig deeper into these inequities. Learn who’s increasing access and funding the arts locally and nationally, and read the fine print.

Educated Reporter News Explainers

5 Questions for Cassandra Mensah: How Schools Can Better Support Pregnant and Parenting Teens

Cassandra Mensah of National Women’s Law Center discusses how schools can support pregnant and parenting teens in this post Roe v. Wade world.

How to Cover the Story News Explainers

How to Cover Content Standards Issues in Your State

Educated Reporter How to Cover the Story News Explainers

How to Cover Indigenous Students Authentically and Accurately

Native reporters and educators provide tips for covering Indigenous students amid critical race theory claims, renewed efforts to teach Native history, and some state rollouts of reduced or free college tuition.

Member Spotlight

Member Spotlight: How a Reporter’s WhatsApp Experiment Became a Valuable Resource for Spanish Speakers

Reporter Maritza Félix explains how she grew a Spanish-language community journalism project and removed information barriers for Latinx people in Arizona.

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