EWA Radio

President Donald Trump chose Linda McMahon, known best for her family’s professional wrestling empire, to carry out his executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. 

Linda Jacobson, senior writer for The 74 Million, talks with EWA Public Editor Emily Richmond about the new education secretary’s agenda. 

What do we know about McMahon’s plans for the agency, which is responsib...

Former evangelical insider Deborah Jian Lee explains how over 200 federally funded religious schools – with nearly one million students – exploit the religious exemption from Title IX, the federal policy that protects students from discrimination. 

These schools violated the civil rights of Journey Mueller, who was forced out of her Christian college in Colorado, and countless LGBTQ+ students, all with the...

Laura Meckler, the award-winning national education reporter for The Washington Post, shares the top stories in her notebook for the coming academic year. 

Hear why she’s tracking cellphone bans, her advice for covering contentious school board elections, and how to put the so-called “culture wars” into context for your audiences. 

She and EWA Public Editor Emily Richmond also discuss why K-1...

College presidents, campus protests and student debt: Oh my! 

It’s going to be a hectic academic year for many postsecondary institutions, as investigative reporter Michael Vasquez of The Chronicle of Higher Education explains. 

He and EWA Public Editor Emily Richmond brainstorm on what they’d like to see reporters tackling this fall and into 2025. This includes community colleges, why enrollm...

For Talia Richman of The Dallas Morning News, there’s no such thing as a slow news day. 

Richman, recently named the nation’s top education beat reporter at the EWA Awards, shares how she balances the daily grind of school board meetings with enterprise pieces and investigations.

Plus, hear the backstory on how her remarkable profile of a Black girl’s troubling journey through her middle school’s discip...

In Newport News, Virginia, the Black-owned neighborhood of Johnson Terrace was a thriving community until government officials used eminent domain to seize the land and expand a university. 

Brandi Kellam of the Virginia Center for Investigative Reporting at WHRO spent two years digging into archives and building trust with the Johnson family. Along with her VCIR colleague Louis Hansen and Gabriel Sandoval...

Kyra Miles of Minnesota Public Radio is one of a handful of reporters nationally on the early learning beat, which often gets short shrift when it comes to news coverage. 

That’s changed since the pandemic, amid greater awareness of how starkly the nation’s child care needs are outstripping available –and affordable – providers. Kyra shares how she made the transition from the K-12 beat to early learning, ...

Whether you’re joining us in Las Vegas for the 77th National Seminar or looking ahead to a future EWA event, Public Editor Emily Richmond and The Chronicle of Higher Education Editor Daarel Burnette have you covered. 

Burnette, also a member of EWA’s board of directors, shares his tips for making the most of the flagship conference. This includes how to choose which sessions to attend, what to pack, and wh...

The already stressful and arduous process of applying for college financial aid was supposed to be easier this year. Instead, the public saw the meltdown of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 

As the U.S. Department of Education scrambles to fix calculation errors, colleges and universities have had to hit pause on making admissions decisions, adding even more confusion to the mix. 

In Baltimore and many other school systems in Maryland, Black teachers are leaving at a higher rate than their colleagues of any other racial group. That tracks with national trends, and leaves too many schools with educator workforces that are significantly less diverse than the student populations they teach. 

Kristen Griffith of The Baltimore Banner shares in...

Many state funding formulas allocate additional dollars for low-income students to level the playing field. But fewer account for concentrated poverty in communities, despite the additional challenges faced by schools serving large shares of economically disadvantaged students. 

What is the impact of concentrated poverty on students? How might more resources be directed to high-poverty schools, and what ot...

For a reporter who is not officially on the education beat, Alec MacGillis of ProPublica finds plenty to keep him busy, going deep into stories about how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be felt in all aspects of lives of students and their school communities. 

He joins EWA Radio to discuss his two newest pieces: a close look at a private company providing outreach services tracking down absent students in the hard-hit school sys...

While in her junior year at Milpitas High School in Northern California, student journalist Riya Vyas  heard the rumors like everyone else – two teachers had been accused of improper behavior with students. 

She used the power of the press – and open records requests – to build a paper trail and show that the teachers had been allowed to resign quietly, decreasing the possibility that a record of disciplin...

For a reporter who is not officially on the education beat, Alec MacGillis of ProPublica finds plenty to keep him busy, going deep into stories about how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be felt in all aspects of lives of students and their school communities. 

He joins EWA Radio to discuss his two newest pieces: a close look at a private company providing outreach services tracking down absent students in the hard-h...

Suburbs have long been a touchstone of the proverbial American dream, promising happy lives and top-notch schools to their fortunate inhabitants. But what happens when white and affluent families move on, leaving behind massive municipal debt, poorly planned infrastructure, and school systems ill-equipped to meet the needs of newer residents – many of whom are often less wealthy, Black, and Hispanic? 

Long...

From fiscal cliffs to surges in high-need students, 2024 is expected to be a challenging year on the K-12 and higher ed beats. 

As Boston Globe editor Melissa Taboada told EWA public editor Emily Richmond: “Winter is coming.” Jon Marcus, higher education editor for The Hechinger Report, also joined the discussion, offering his forecast for the months ahead. 

Among the big stories these veteran journalists say to watch for: student ...

If you’re a journalist who’s feeling burned out or ready for a change, a professional fellowship can be a chance to recharge and renew your passion for your work. 

What are the differences among the best-known residential fellowships? What makes a great application? What should you expect from your fellowship year? And how can you boost your chances of grabbing the brass ring? 

Two experienced...

What keeps rural Black students from pursuing college or thriving when they get there? J. Brian Charles of The Chronicle of Higher Education went to Sussex County, Virginia to get a closer look at what post-high school opportunity looks like in the swampy countryside, where “peanuts, pork, and pine” are the major exports – not young people headed for higher education. 

He talks with EWA Public Editor Emil...