2022 Beat Reporting (Small Newsroom) Finalists
Becky Z. Dernbach
Sahan Journal
Education in Minnesota’s Immigrant Communities and Communities of Color
- Two years ago, Qorsho Hassan became the first Somali American to win Minnesota Teacher of the Year. In June, Qorsho announced she’s leaving the classroom. What happened?
- Classroom duties are piling up. Mental health needs are skyrocketing. But pay hasn’t budged. Why Minneapolis and St. Paul educational assistants are ready to strike.
- Strikeblog Day Four: Negotiations continue, educators canvass, and district outlines school makeup day policy.
- Is ‘ethnic studies’ an attempt to indoctrinate Minnesota’s schools with anti-American values? We visited a classroom in Rochester to find out.
- ‘A joyful moment’: For the first time, some Minnesota school districts add Eid to the calendar
Comments From the Judges:
“I really liked the story on the Minnesota teacher of the year who decided to leave the classroom. It was full of details about this one extraordinary teacher’s struggles — yet also wove in what has become national debates (and fierce arguments) about how racism is broached in public schools. A compelling read. The story about Eid becoming a school holiday was also well done, with good quotes and examples from students and educators.”
“I am impressed by this reporter’s work on an interesting beat–the impact and aftermath of the pandemic, teacher shortages and related issues on immigrant communities and communities of color. A great array of underrepresented sources and stories. The writing is at a similar level to some of the most accomplished journalists in this category, too. Impressive work.”
Jon Marcus
The Hechinger Report
Jon Marcus Covers Higher Education
- How higher education lost its shine
- Another million adults ‘have stepped off the path to the middle class’
- Rural universities, already few and far between, are being stripped of majors
- A battle at one university is a case study in why higher education is so slow to change
- Struggling small colleges are joining the ‘sharing economy’ — teaming up to share courses and majors
Comments From the Judges:
“The stories on higher ed losing its shine and the struggles of rural students who want to go to college (and the colleges that serve them) were both really interesting, highlighting issues I hadn’t read much about in other publications. I liked that both were grounded in interviews with students, counselors, professors — all those impacted by the trends.”
“I liked this batch of stories for showing the reporter’s expertise in covering the field and identifying (and synthesizing) important themes. I also very much like the mix of sources, from all the data to university leaders to students and guidance counselors all across the country. We also don’t see enough coverage of rural higher ed institutions.”
Emily Tate Sullivan
EdSurge
What Side Hustle Culture Reveals About Teacher Pay in America
- Our nation’s teachers are hustling to survive
- Double shift: 6 stories of teachers with side hustles
- A year after the online tutoring industry was roiled, teachers are still searching for stability
- Why did we stop hearing about the teachers making millions on teachers pay teachers?
- Could the U.S. soon see a federal minimum salary for teachers?
Comments From the Judges:
“The first entry was really eye-opening, with such great details and anecdotes from such a variety of teachers. The story plowed new ground on a problem education reporters have long heard about and did so in a way that was a compelling read, with good stats backing up really powerful narratives from those teaching in our classrooms — and also waiting tables, driving Ubers, etc. Really well done. Just a great example of peeling back the curtain on an issue that has been long overlooked.”
“A great, multi-faceted look into an important topic. The reporter grounded the stories in teachers’ stories and didn’t stop.”
Finalists
