2025 Beat Reporting (Small Newsroom) Winner

About the Winner:

Asher Lehrer-Small gave insight into covering the Houston Independent School District as it underwent a massive overhaul.

“I tried to deliver the accountability reporting the city deserved,” Lehrer-Small said. “I managed to expose issues district leaders tried to hide, and I fact-checked statements made by the superintendent. 

“I also highlighted progress when progress was made,” he added. “Due to the balance and rigor, my stories often drove impact, led the citywide dialogue on education and were among the most-read content produced by the Houston Landing.”

Comments From the Judges:

“Fantastic beat reporting. The reporter digs deeper and finds the real stories. I love this story about how children who enter school as non-native English speakers are more likely than their classmates to become high school valedictorians. What a gem of a story. No one else is telling that story unless you dig into the data. I’m impressed by the straightforward writing, the use of public records and the reporter’s ability to put a face on issues (like wraparound specialists losing their jobs, how it affects families).”

“This reporter demonstrated extraordinary tenacity in digging up the details of dysfunction and perhaps deceptions in the operations of the district being taken over by the state — leaders spending hundreds of millions of dollars without board approval and wraparound services for vulnerable students being lost as district leaders claimed they were improving programs. Most impressive is the reporter’s doggedness in making sure he broke the story — the day before his publication shuttered — of a teacher sending a lewd video to a student despite the district’s desire to keep the information confidential.”

Photo credits: Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing & Lexi Parra / Houston Landing