How to Cover Schools Amid Dismantling of Education Department

Описание: Journalists Can Help Communities Understand the Shift in Federal Education Policy. Editors Delano Massey of Axios Local and Chastity Pratt of The Washington Post offer sound advice on covering the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.
by Rachel Jones, National Press Foundation

In the weeks since President Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, there’s been a great deal of focus on how that federal policy decision would affect local communities.

From the pause in collection of education data to the cessation of grants for specialized education initiatives, many observers have speculated about how public schools in communities across the country will operate moving forward. During the April 7 Widening the Pipeline virtual training, fellows received expert advice on how to communicate the potential impact from two veteran journalists with a deep contextual grasp of the educational climate in America today: Delano Massey, managing editor at Axios Local, and Chastity Pratt, national education editor at The Washington Post.

From budget crunches to teacher shortages, there are stories to tell that have implications far beyond the traditional education beat, they said.

“We are in a moment where this administration is trying to make some historic changes. And if you’re covering education right now, you are in the spotlight. You are in the hot seat. You can do big stories right now. Keep your eyes open,” Pratt said. “You do the stories that people care about, about people. And I think there is hope because this is about children and young minds.”

Here are 3 takeaways from that session:

What are the pain points for local communities?
Massey’s Feb. 6 story about the Education Department’s dismissal of book bans was a signal of things to come. His own experience tracking the rise of book bans and school board elections during the 2020 racial justice protests gave him critical insights. During his previous tenure leading CNN’s race and equity reporting team, Massey was able to gather data that showed a correlation between targeted books, school board elections and the topics deemed inappropriate.

“The concern that a lot of librarians had was that there weren’t enough people that were talking to them about this fight, and especially the fact that it was now in the courts and they wanted to bring more attention to the matter. So initially that was the story. And then from a local side, we had seen in Atlanta basically these free libraries that were popping up with the banned books so that people still had access to it. So I ended up basically doing two of those stories, one nationally and one locally, but it was more just to put more of a concentration on this topic that people were not talking about anymore.”

Focus on YOUR audience
After the initial coverage of the March 21 Executive Order, Pratt said the Post’s education team’s first job was explaining what the Education Department is in charge of. Many people weren’t aware, for example, that one of its biggest functions is the student loan portfolio. After that foundation was laid, Pratt said the next step is finding out what matters to your audience. For instance, at the Wall Street Journal, education topics were framed through an economic lens, whereas at the Washington Post the focus is political.

“Is it bilingual education? Is it vocational education? Is it the graduation rates? When you know your community and the issues that are most important that are playing out in your community, then you can stay in your lane and set your priorities. Are your priorities teaching and learning, money, politics and culture trends that are happening and have been happening for years? Is it school closures? Once you set your priorities, you know what’s going on in your community, then you know where to plant your flag.”

Impact can shift, from rural to urban, state to state
Massey said Axios Local is in 31 markets right now, and the types of education stories vary. Factor in the shifts that are occurring with new federal education policies, and there’s a lot at stake.

Speakers:
Delano Massey, Managing Editor, Axios Local
Chastity Pratt, National Education Editor, The Washington Post

Summary, resources and transcript: https://nationalpress.org/topic/educa...

This video was produced within the Evelyn Y. Davis studios.

This fellowship is funded by the Evelyn Y. Davis Foundation. NPF is solely responsible for the content.