Giving Lori Crouch a Heartfelt ‘Thank You’ as She Retires

If you’ve attended National Seminar, participated in the EWA Awards, or taken advantage of just about any of the Education Writers Association’s training opportunities and online resources over the past three decades, chances are Assistant Director Lori Crouch played a pivotal role in making it happen.

For 28 years, Lori has done what she does best, and what she’s been passionate about since her own days as a beat reporter: improving the quality and quantity of education journalism. She has dedicated herself, personally and professionally, to EWA’s mission and its members. 

At the end of November, Lori will begin her well-deserved retirement. While it’s difficult to fathom an EWA without her institutional knowledge, talent and – above all – caring heart, we know her ethos will continue in her stead. We will miss her immensely and can’t thank her enough for everything she has done for EWA, its members, and education journalism – and for her unwavering commitment to a free press. 

Before she goes, she wanted to share some of her considerable wisdom about how to produce compelling and impactful stories and hold power to account:

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Au revoir!

After 28 years, I’m retiring from EWA. It’s been a great journey, and I’ve loved (almost!) every minute of the time I spent with you.

EWA members: I’m in awe of your talent, your tenacity and your drive, especially in this tumultuous time for the news industry and the education beat. 

It truly is the best beat in the world. You can write feature stories. You can uncover wrongdoing. You can follow the money and crunch data. You can cover politics – and the classroom. 

After all these years, both covering education and then working for EWA, I have some parting tips for making the most of your reporting opportunities:

• Visit classrooms. The best coverage I have seen over the years almost always focused on the dynamics of the classroom – whether in person or virtual. Observing the process of learning helps you understand how policies and research do or don’t translate to what goes on between teacher and students. But more than that, visiting schools/campuses helps you understand how students experience school. 
• Cultivate sources, namely students, teachers and professors. I’ve done a lot of talking to students to incorporate more student voices on our panels. One complaint I heard a lot: Reporters will dive into their schools and campuses for a story, but they don’t stick around, and they don’t follow up. It’s better to establish relationships early and have those contacts available when breaking news hits.
• Mine data; crunch data; use data. The education beat is a treasure trove of data. It shouldn’t be the story, but it should inform your coverage. Also take advantage of researchers at your local university to help you with the analysis. It can be a win-win – you get a great story; they get the start of an academic paper. And remember: We have lots of resources!
• Follow the money. As legacy EWA member Tawnell Hobbs, now an investigative journalist for The New York Times has said: Don’t pay attention to budgets – they’re just blueprints. Instead, pay attention to the actual spending.
• Watch the pendulum swing. The very first event I organized for EWA in 1998 focused on the Reading Wars and featured researchers from the National Reading Panel. Now Emily Hanford, who has served on our Journalism Advisory Board, has uncovered how the Reading Panel findings hardly percolated to the classroom. As you cover an issue like this, look at the history surrounding it.

I hope to continue to follow your work in my new life of traveling and volunteering. Keep in touch!

Before she heads off on her next adventure, please feel free to reach out to Lori – whether it’s to share a favorite memory, say thank you or just wish her well! She can be reached at lcrouch@ewa.org.