2024 Beat Reporting (Small Newsroom) Winner

About the Winner:

Amid the throes of a sweeping, swift and largely unpopular state takeover of Texas’ largest school district, Asher Lehrer-Small wrote nearly 80 articles over the past year. He balanced a mix of daily beat reporting and enterprise work, including these five articles that illustrate the depth, breadth and impact of his portfolio. 

During his time in Texas, Asher emerged as a trusted voice on Houston ISD, produced impact-driving investigations, helped families navigate a fast-changing school landscape and gave students a platform. He masterfully did the work of a beat reporter.

Comments From the Judges:

“These stories give voices behind the issues and put readers inside the schools and inside the heads of affected students, mixing both the details of individual experience and the 10,000-foot perspective that helps readers understand meaning and context. The suspended homeless student story is interesting. The examples told readers why the investigation mattered.”

“Great storytelling throughout that makes the stories smooth and easy to read. The author doesn’t just write about the schools and policies from above, but spends time on the ground in the schools to get a closer look. I particularly enjoyed the out-of-the-norm structure of the story about Forest Brook Middle, where the author compares side-by-side what the superintendent says with what critics say and with what the author observed to provide perspectives from multiple sides.”

Photo credit: Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing