2024 EWA Caucus on School Finance: An Online Reporting Community
Meet monthly with fellow reporters to build your school finance knowledge. The deadline to apply is Dec. 22 at noon Eastern.
Photo credit: Angelov/Bigstock
School finance is a complex but critically important topic for education journalists to cover. The need is urgent for journalists to help the public make sense of education funding matters as deadlines to spend COVID-19 relief funds draw near, states work to revamp their funding formulas and many districts grapple with enrollment declines.
The Education Writers Association is offering an opportunity for journalists interested in digging deeper into school finance. We invite journalist members to apply for the third iteration of the EWA Caucus on School Finance, an online reporting community. From January through June, participants will meet monthly to build their knowledge and skills on the topic, gaining insights from fellow journalists and national experts.
Participants in the 2023 caucus heard from experts, such as Jess Gartner of Allovue on digging into school district budgets and putting data into context; Mary Filardo of the 21st Century School Fund on school capital funding; Chad Aldeman, an education analyst, who spoke on teacher compensation; and Ary Amerikaner and Saba Bireda of Brown’s Promise on the intersection of school funding and segregation.
Journalists from news outlets, such as Education Week, WRAL News in North Carolina and The Boston Globe, offered their advice to caucus members.
The caucus also is a place to deepen ties among education reporters, to bond and network with like-minded peers. It’s a forum to share ideas and troubleshoot together. Above all, the goal is for participants to come away inspired, informed and better prepared to produce compelling coverage of K-12 funding.
We anticipate a group of approximately 20 to 30 journalists will participate in these 75-minute gatherings over six months. Beginning in January 2024, the caucus will meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. Eastern.
This program is intended for journalists with some experience covering education, preferably at least two years. We welcome 2022 or 2023 caucus members to participate again, as new speakers and topics will be featured.
The deadline to apply for next year’s caucus is Dec. 22 at noon Eastern.
