2021 Finalists for the National Awards for Education Reporting
Discover in-depth reporting from journalists selected as finalists in each category.
The Complete List
Audio Storytelling
Smaller Newsroom
Sasha Aslanian & Alisa Roth
APM Reports
Under Pressure: Inside the College Mental Health Crisis
Lee V. Gaines
Illinois Public Media
A Debate Over Defunding the Campus Police Takes Root at the University of Illinois
Kyra Miles
WBHM
LGBTQ Students Find Hope in New Affirming School: The Magic City Acceptance Academy
Larger Newsroom
Sasha Aslanian, Catherine Winter, Karin Fischer & Jennifer Ruark
APM Reports, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Fading Beacon: Why America Is Losing International Students
NBC News staff
NBC News Digital
Southlake
Ki Sung, Jessica Placzek, Nimah Gobir & Seth Samuel
KQED
Grades Have Huge Impact, But Are They Effective?
Beat Reporting
Small newsroom
Linda Jacobson
The 74
Covering American Education’s Most Turbulent Year
Asher Lehrer-Small
The 74
ELLs’ Absenteeism, Blue State/Red State Learning Divides, TA to BA and More
Jon Marcus
The Hechinger Report
Jon Marcus: Higher Education Beat Coverage
Midsize newsroom
Mila Koumpilova
Chalkbeat Chicago
Mila Koumpilova: Beat Reporting
Olivia Krauth
The Courier Journal
Olivia Krauth: Beat Reporting
Kate McGee
The Texas Tribune
Higher Education in Texas
Large newsroom
Dana Goldstein
The New York Times
How the Pandemic Has Affected Students, Teachers and Families
Erica Green
The New York Times
How the Nation’s Troubles Affected Education
Talia Richman
The Dallas Morning News
Talia Richman: Beat Reporting
Features
Small newsroom
Max Kutner
Los Angeles Magazine
How L.A.’s Brentwood School Became a Battleground in the Culture Wars
Caroline Preston
The Hechinger Report
The Jobs Where Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Never Stopped
Charlotte West & Monica Braine
The Hechinger Report
How Native Students Navigated the Pandemic
Midsize newsroom
Trisha Powell Crain & Amanda Khorrambadi
AL.com, Reckon South
Alabama High Flyers
Rita Omokha
The Hechinger Report, Vanity Fair
The Orphans Covid Left Behind
Patrick Wall, Stephanie Wang, Sarah Darville, Kalyn Belsha, Alex Zimmerman, Lori Higgins & Melanie Asmar
Chalkbeat
Covid Shutdowns: One Year Later
Large newsroom
Mike Hixenbaugh & Antonia Hylton
NBC News Digital
The Critical Race Theory Battle in Southlake’s Schools
Hannah Natanson
The Washington Post
Race in the Classroom
Casey Parks
The New York Times Magazine
The Tragedy of America’s Rural Schools
Investigative Reporting
Smaller newsroom
Morgan Matzen
Argus Leader
South Dakota Social Studies Standards Series
Samantha Smylie
Chalkbeat Chicago
How Chicago Fell Behind Serving Students With Disabilities
Jack Stripling
The Chronicle of Higher Education
‘The Biggest Mess’
Larger newsroom
Hannah Dreyfus
ProPublica
“The Liberty Way”
Kenny Jacoby
USA TODAY
Six Women Reported a Louisiana College Student for Sexual Misconduct. No One Connected the Dots.
Mandy McLaren
Louisville Courier-Journal
Magnetic Pull: How Louisville Sacrifices Poor Schools to Ensure Its Elite Magnet Programs Thrive
News
Small newsroom
Rebecca Koenig & Emily Tate
EdSurge
How China’s New Education Policy Affects Teachers, Parents and Students Around the World
Jackie Mader, Kavitha Cardoza & Kate Rix
The Hechinger Report
The Trauma Epidemic
Neal Morton
The Hechinger Report
A Year in the Life of a Small-Town Superintendent Shows the Federal Bailout Won’t Be Enough
Midsize newsroom
Nuria Martinez-Keel & Josh Dulaney
The Oklahoman
Ninnekah Schools Abuse Scandal
Ileana Najarro, Holly Peele, Eesha Pendharkar, Maya Riser-Kositsky, Stephen Sawchuk, Sarah Schwartz, Kaylee Domzalski & Brooke Saias
Education Week
A Year After George Floyd
Jack Stripling
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Tenure Case of Nikole Hannah-Jones
Large newsroom
Emily Donaldson, Talia Richman, Corbett Smith, Eva-Marie Ayala & Allie Morris
The Education Lab at The Dallas Morning News
Texas Public Schools and Censorship
Anya Kamenetz
NPR
School Board Front Lines
Erin Richards, Alia Wong & Jack Gruber
USA TODAY
School Reopening Coverage
Public Service
Smaller newsroom
Alex Baumhardt, Will Craft, Sabby Robinson, Will Callan, Chris Julin, Catherine Winter, Andy Kruse & Dave Mann
APM Reports
Who Wants to Be a Teacher?
Eric Hoover
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Most Onerous Form in College Admissions
Janine Zeitlin
Naples Daily News / The News-Press/ USA TODAY Network-Florida
How the Pandemic Magnified Inequities for Florida’s Migrant Students
Larger newsroom
Sarah Butrymowicz, Meredith Kolodner & Jon Marcus
The Hechinger Report
Hidden Debt Trap
Laura Bauer & Judy Thomas
The Kansas City Star
Unlicensed and Under the Radar
News staffs
Big Local News, EdSource, The New York Times
The School Enrollment Project
Visual Storytelling
Smaller newsroom
Justin Allen & Daniel J. Willis
EdSource
Following Covid Money in Education
Alec Fischer
Fischr Media
Covid Confessions: Teachers Share Their Experiences Working During the Pandemic
Yuxuan Xie & Daniel J. Willis
EdSource
Tracking learning modes of California students
Larger newsroom
Kevin Armstrong & Amr Alfiky
The New York Times
“No Shortcuts” on 40-Mile Rite of Passage
GBH News Staff
GBH News
COVID and the Classroom
Anya Kamenetz, LA Johnson & Steve Drummond
NPR
The History of Vaccine Mandates
