2020 Beat Reporting (Large Newsroom) Winner

About the Entry

Time after time, the work of Bianca Vázquez Toness has highlighted systemic failures and abuses during the pandemic — and beyond — through the stories of the students and parents most deeply affected. Nearly all of her pieces were told not only through on-the-record accounts of families but also supportive documents and data that illuminated the depth and scale of the problem. That powerful combination has routinely forced state and local leaders to rethink their policies and practices.

Comments from the Judges

“I love the stories selected for this submission. The access displayed within these submissions is truly wonderful. Well done overall and Ms. Toness should be proud of this body of work.”

“This is accountability journalism. The reporter not only found ways to tell compelling stories amid the pandemic, but wrote about things districts were doing or had done that dramatically affected how learning continued and how demographics were disproportionately impacted.​”