EWA Announces the 2025 Top Prize Winners

June 4, 2025 (WASHINGTON, DC)—The Education Writers Association is pleased to announce the recipients of the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting and the Ronald D. Moskowitz Prize for Outstanding Beat Reporting.

Recipients were announced on Thursday, June 4 during EWA’s 79th National Seminar in Baltimore. Click the links below to read the award-winning work and to view the judges’ comments.

The Ronald D. Moskowitz Prize for Outstanding Beat Reporting was awarded to Jill Barshay of The Hechinger Report for her deeply sourced and nuanced coverage of federal education policy and the turmoil and fallout of the dismantling of the Institute of Education Sciences. Only beat reporting category winners are eligible for the Moskowitz Prize. 

In addition to breaking news, Barshay’s work illuminated the human toll of systemic chaos, and it was cited in several lawsuits against the federal government seeking to restore funding and personnel.  

“The pinnacle of beat reporting,” an awards judge wrote. “In-depth analysis of breaking news with a wide array of sources who speak openly because of their trust in a reporter they know understands the stakes.”

The Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting was awarded to Liz Bowie, Greg Morton, Ryan Little and Allan James Vestal of The Banner. Their investigative project, “Missing the Bus: How Baltimore Failed a Generation of Students Struggling to Get to School,” exposed how a universal choice program fell far short of its pledge to expand educational opportunities for underserved children, and instead, it excluded families without ready access to cars. The reporting team was selected from among 14 of 17 category winners in the 2025 National Awards for Education Reporting. 

Using open records requests and innovative data tools, the project exposed inequities in the existing system and helped families better navigate their school choice options. 

“An absolutely outstanding feat of data reporting and narrative writing – that illustrates an educational barrier for students that we’ve not seen covered in decades,” an awards judge wrote. “It has everything: humanity, accountability, a clear connection between the failures and the stakes. A master-class in the mission of education reporting.”

The competition was independently judged by more than 100 current and former editors and reporters, many of whom are past recipients of prestigious journalism awards from EWA and others. 

EWA would like to thank all who entered the 2025 National Awards for Education Reporting and express our deep gratitude to the busy professionals who volunteered their time to evaluate this year’s many fine entries.