At 麻豆精品, we鈥檙e celebrating the most memorable coverage about schools and students that we鈥檝e read. Our picks include stories on a range of education topics, from teacher shortages and learning recovery to a notable tribute to a crossing guard who left an indelible impression on the students he guided safely to school each day.

Below, in no particular order, are 16 of the articles we felt were the most impactful in 2024. We hope you take the time to read (and share) these important stories written by talented journalists from across the country.

CT Mirror

By , CT Mirror

We know the shocking truth: The U.S. adult illiteracy rate is high, with 21%, or 43 million adults, unable to understand basic vocabulary, compare and contrast information and paraphrase what鈥檚 been read.

Jessika Harkay鈥檚 Connecticut Mirror story is a carefully executed autopsy of how one young woman became part of that statistic. This story is a standout to me because it documents how a student like Aleysha Ortiz could be pushed through school and graduate 鈥� even though she is barely literate. I like its tight structure and details, such as how she had to go to 鈥渟chool two times in one day,鈥� recording what the teacher said during class; and then going home and listening to the recording again. The cost was high and heartbreaking: 鈥淭o this day I鈥檝e never been out to a movie theatre with friends, ever,鈥� Ortiz reveals. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have time to have fun.鈥� .

ProPublica

By  & , ProPublica

Known as a model for school choice nationally, Arizona’s voucher program is a case study ripe for investigation. ProPublica reporters Eli Hager and Lucas Waldron dug into Maricopa County鈥檚 data, finding the vast majority of families attending private schools using public funds were from more affluent ZIP codes. This is despite conservatives touting the program as transformational for all. 

Like many inequities in education, ProPublica鈥檚 probe led reporters to housing segregation. Private schools, typically located in wealthier areas, remain out of reach geographically, with some facing two-hour city bus routes or $30 cab rides each way. While the reporting in this story is data-driven, the storytelling stays rooted in empathy for the daily lives and concerns of three families who were eager to use the state鈥檚 voucher system to pursue a better education for their children, but ultimately gave up on the idea. Instead, the article points out, many parents are coming together to make their own public schools better. Read the full story .

Block Club Chicago

By , Block Club Chicago

School staffing crisis stories were abundant this year, but Block Club Chicago鈥檚 investigative reporter Mina Bloom humanized the consequences of teacher shortages, centering the story on one brave student who took control of her class鈥檚 education after the teacher鈥檚 long absence. A model of how local stories can bring awareness to national issues, Bloom skillfully weaved in meticulous data and the history of the school. 

After a year of headlines decrying the 鈥渄isengaged student,鈥� it was heartening to read about students so committed and passionate about learning that they refused to let the school鈥檚 shortcomings disrupt their education. I will be thinking often about Carolina Carchi, the 15-year-old who taught her classmates about the properties of liquids and solids and how to balance chemical equations. It鈥檚 crucial to celebrate young people like Carolina and amplify their voices to hold systems accountable. .

The New York Times

By  and , The New York Times

When I was in grade school in the Midwest we regularly practiced tornado drills, filing down to the basement to duck and cover. Today, the kids are trained to barricade themselves in the classroom to protect against a different nemesis: school shooters. With common-sense solutions to school shootings seemingly stalled, worried parents are taking matters into their own hands to protect their kids at whatever cost.

This New York Times story by Emily Baumgaertner and Alex Kalman is an eye-opening expose of the solutions and products that parents and school districts are being sold to protect their children. At one education trade show, the reporters saw vendors offering a wide range of bulletproof school items, from pencil pouches, clipboards and three-ring binders to hoodies, desks and whiteboards. Bulletproof backpack inserts were also being marketed with the help of an animated turtle named Tank who struggles to pronounce and encourages the kids to crouch behind their backpack 鈥渟hells鈥� in a safe spot. As Baumgaertner and Kalman explain, the market is almost as absurd as the problem it seeks to resolve. .

Oregon Live

By , OregonLive

For decades, boys have been shrinking as a percentage of American college students. As Sami Edge reported for The Oregonian and its website OregonLive this summer, the gender gap is especially prominent in rural areas, where even high-achieving males are unlikely to proceed immediately to college after finishing high school. As part of a wide-ranging, , the reporter followed several seniors in comparatively remote districts across Central and Eastern Oregon, artfully uncovering their reasons for holding pat rather than signing up for more years of schooling.

Some of the boys Edge encounters say they and their friends feel financially pressured to defer their plans for college, citing either the high cost of tuition or the need to assume responsibility at family farms. But others 鈥� including the main subjects of her story, a high school valedictorian and his close friend 鈥� simply seem adrift. Maybe they鈥檒l enroll in an apprenticeship, or else take a job at a gas station; maybe they鈥檒l study music, or move East to live with a long-distance romantic partner. Readers will finish the piece with a better understanding of social trends in parts of Oregon that might otherwise be overlooked, but they also gain a sense of the generational ambivalence toward higher education that has taken hold far beyond the Pacific Northwest. .

The Hechinger Report

By  & , The Hechinger Report

Fazil Khan and Sarah Butrymowicz鈥檚 story about the nebulous nature of school suspensions in several states shines a light on a critical form of chronic inequity in American schools. The story notes the uneven application of such harsh discipline and how some administrators, recognizing that students of color are too often targeted, are desperate for better alternatives. 

The Hechinger Report鈥檚 deep data dive found 88% of suspensions in Texas in 2023 were marked as a 鈥渧iolation of student code of conduct鈥� with no additional detail. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 more than a million suspensions last school year alone,鈥� the authors note. In Mississippi, the similarly vague 鈥渘oncriminal behavior鈥� slot described hundreds of thousands of suspensions over a five-year period. Students in Indiana, Alabama and Vermont were cast out for equally vague reasons, the reporters found. All this can lead to some long-term consequences: Research has shown suspended students often suffer poor academic performance and higher dropout rates. Highlighting this important story is bittersweet as it marks a posthumous tribute for Khan, who died in a fire earlier this year. You can read.

ProPublica

By  and , ProPublica

As a former charter and public school teacher, stories about private, for-profit schools always catch my skeptical eye. When I saw this piece from ProPublica homed in on one such school that serves particularly vulnerable students in a residential setting, I was intrigued. Shrub Oak International School, which opened in 2018 in Westchester County, New York, enrolls students with autism, including kids who have behavioral challenges and complex medical needs and who other schools have turned away. 

Shrub Oak is one of the most expensive therapeutic boarding schools in America, with tuition as high as $316,400 per year, ProPublica found. Despite lacking any meaningful oversight from the state, the school still receives public money from districts across the country. Beyond the financial component, the lack of regulation has allowed the school to renege on promises to parents and has resulted in several alleged incidents of abuse and neglect. Pulling from court documents, interviews with nearly 30 families and dozens of workers, ProPublica鈥檚 Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen present a compelling and gutting investigation about what happens when a school meant to protect and educate students in need falls through the cracks of regulatory oversight and fails the people who need its services most. .

Civil Beat

By , Honolulu Civil Beat

School bus driver shortages remained in 2024, and education reporters did their part to cover the chaos. Stories described students waiting hours for buses that never came and districts recruiting lunchroom staff and office clerks to drive. But Megan Tagami of Hawaii鈥檚 Civil Beat broke down the reason why the state education department kept canceling and combining routes at the last minute 鈥� its heavy reliance on contracts with private bus companies instead of owning its own fleet and hiring its own drivers. One contractor, in particular, failed to notify the department that it would be unable to fulfill more than 100 of its routes until just weeks before the school year started. 

Tagami showed how transportation costs in Hawaii have skyrocketed 鈥� in part because the state鈥檚 education department increased the size of its bus contracts to avoid these hassles and reimburses parents for driving their kids to school. The piece offered readers a valuable, local angle on a national problem that is disruptive for families and impacts learning time for students. .

AP

By & , Associated Press

Smokin’ in the boys’ room is a thing of the past 鈥� and now it appears vaping is, too. In an article for The Associated Press, Jacqueline Munis and Ella McCarthy reveal the startling degree to which schools nationwide deploy “vape detection” surveillance tools to sniff out students’ electronic cigarette use in school bathrooms. Schools have spent millions of dollars on sensors designed to detect e-cigarette vapor and surveillance cameras that capture the students-turned-suspects on their way out of the facilities. Along with privacy concerns, the censors have led to harsh discipline for students, including in-school suspensions and even felony charges. .

The Lens – NOLA

By , The Lens

by Marta Jewson of the New Orleans nonprofit The Lens is a master class on the value of pushing beyond a news item鈥檚 top, four-alarm takeaway to probe for broader potential ramifications. Few other outlets so much as noticed that in September Louisiana joined 16 other states in suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that gender dysphoria 鈥� a medical diagnosis sometimes made when a person鈥檚 gender identity differs from the gender they were assigned at birth 鈥� should not be considered a disability.聽Jewson鈥檚 story not only reported that the lawsuit could dismantle portions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides key protections to people in schools and in employment, housing, public services and many other spheres of society, but at a moment when much 鈥渃ulture war鈥� reporting focuses on adult politics, she made a point to include the voices of students who could be impacted by this lawsuit in multiple ways. Read .

Vox

By , Vox

I鈥檓 drawn to stories that examine how historical movements have influenced current events and can challenge readers to learn from the past and apply it to what is happening now. In this story, Vox reporter Nicole Narea excels at this by shining a light on the parallels between today鈥檚 youth-led pro-Palestine protests on college campuses and student activism of the past, including the 1960s protests against the Vietnam War and the 1980s campus movements against apartheid in South Africa. 

The story is not just a mere timeline of student protest coverage. It describes why college campuses remain distinctive environments for fostering critical thinking, personal development and cultural awareness. Narea鈥檚 story blends history, politics, activism and the power of student voices to illustrate how college students have long been at the forefront of social change. 

The story also notes how swiftly today鈥檚 student movements can be met with police crackdowns, arrests and political pressure, even when they are predominantly peaceful in nature. It鈥檚  a thought-provoking piece that speaks to what today鈥檚 students encounter as they fight for their rights and those of others 鈥� often facing backlash and personal danger. .

The New York Times

By  & , New York Times

There鈥檚 been a good deal of reporting on the effects of the pandemic on older children. Less covered is the impact on the nation鈥檚 youngest children 鈥� those who were babies, toddlers and preschoolers during the height of the pandemic and who are now school-aged.

In this story, The New York Times鈥� Claire Cain Miller and Sarah Mervosh share findings from interviews with teachers, pediatricians and early childhood experts. The bottom line: Many of these younger children are showing signs of academic and developmental delays. There are also concerns related to a variety of areas, like speech and language development, emotional regulation, social interactions, behavior, attention span, core strength and fine motor skills. Researchers suggested that a number of factors affected young children during the pandemic, including parental stress, less exposure to people, more time on screens and lower preschool attendance.

Despite these trends, some experts said recovery is possible, pointing to resources that can help as well as evidence that the early years of brain development in young children positions them well to 鈥渃atch up.鈥� .

The Boston Globe

By , The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe鈥檚 Mandy McLaren and Neena Hagen collected and reviewed more than 2,600 confidential agreements between Massachusetts school districts and families of students with special needs showing that families who can afford a lawyer are often able to negotiate six-figure placements at specialized schools, while those who can鈥檛 afford one watch their kids languish in neighborhood schools.

It鈥檚 an amazing investigative effort that lays bare what one mother calls the 鈥渢edious and maddening back-and-forth鈥� with a district. She negotiates a secret agreement for annual $40,000 tuition payments at a private school, but no one can know 鈥� especially not other parents 鈥渟till fumbling in the dark鈥� for ways to help their kids. The nondisclosure agreements weaken other families鈥� ability to find 鈥渇ree and appropriate鈥� settings for their kids, as federal law demands. One expert tells the Globe that such secrecy runs counter to the spirit of the law, which envisioned families being resources for each other. 鈥淭he way this is set up, it鈥檚 made to break you,鈥� says a father who doesn鈥檛 have the money to fight his kid鈥檚 district. .

ProPublica

By , ProPublica

Enrollment drops. Funding cliff. School closures. These are the buzzwords and edu-cliches that often mask the complex realities behind one of the bigger school shifts in recent memory. In this collaboration between ProPublica and The New Yorker, reporter Alec MacGillis reverses the script, focusing on the effects of closing one school 鈥� Walter Cooper Academy, located in a mostly Black neighborhood of Rochester, New York 鈥� on one family. This close-up approach humanizes a sense of loss that often gets clouded by the abstractions. 鈥淭here is a pathos to a closed school that doesn鈥檛 apply to a shuttered courthouse or post office,鈥� he writes.

While not pulling punches on the disastrous effects of COVID school lockdowns, which sent many parents to charters or schools in the suburbs, MacGillis keeps his eye on the Black families who research shows are disproportionately affected by such closures. 鈥淓very time we think we鈥檙e doing something right for our kids,鈥� one parent says, 鈥渟omeone comes in and dictates to us that our choices are not valid.鈥�

Houston Landing

By , Houston Landing

When a Houston middle school made a remarkable turnaround in just one year, Houston Landing鈥檚 Asher Lehrer-Small wanted to know what was happening there. He spent two full days at Forest Brook Middle school, observing 16 classes, conducting two dozen interviews and joining staff meetings. 

What he found was a school that embraced the priorities of the district鈥檚 new superintendent, Michael Miles: stricter disciplinary practices, more rigorous instruction and increased emphasis on test scores. But he also found teachers taking the time to build relationships with students and to bring their own personalities into their lessons.

鈥淟ast year, when we started this process, scholars went home tired,鈥� Principal Alicia Lewis told him. 鈥淭he parents call me. 鈥楳s. Lewis,鈥� they say, 鈥榠t鈥檚 too much work.鈥� It鈥檚 not. It鈥檚 not too much work. They need it. And look at what happened. They grew.鈥� The story by Lehrer-Small, a veteran of 麻豆精品, demonstrates the power of getting out from behind the computer and experiencing what is actually happening in the classroom. .

The New York Times

By , The New York Times

Many of the education stories we read have a big frame, focused on topics like science of reading that affect millions of students but are often abstract.

Joe Sexton鈥檚 article for The New York Times highlights the importance of students鈥� human interactions at school. He focuses on crossing guard Richard Henderson, who greeted children by name at a New York City school and became a beloved member of the community. When he was shot to death on a subway, the school community came together to support his family, setting up memorials outside of the school and establishing a GoFundMe site that raised $378,000. The right policies are obviously crucial, but this article is a good reminder that schools are made up of people. And the best schools have really good people. .

Ridgway arrives at 麻豆精品 with more than 25 years of experience leading newsrooms, steering news coverage, overseeing editorial and product strategy, and driving innovations at some of the world鈥檚 largest digital media brands. 

Most recently, she served as Managing Editor of CNN Business, where she guided breaking news, analysis and enterprise coverage, managed multiple teams of writers and editors, and played a leading role in driving the site鈥檚 editorial expansion. Among the CNN initiatives Ridgway helped spearhead was a new editorial team focused on the growing wealth gap in America, which put a national spotlight on efforts to offer underserved communities more opportunities in education, healthcare and the workforce. She also launched CNN Business鈥� first investigative team, which went on to produce several award-winning investigations. 

Prior to CNN, Ridgway held various leadership positions at AOL, Forbes and Dow Jones. She鈥檚 also the author of the 2005 book The Running of the Bulls: Inside the Cutthroat Race from Wharton to Wall Street. 

Her arrival completes Snyder鈥檚 new senior leadership team, with Ridgway serving alongside Chief Development Officer Nicole Harris and Chief Creative Officer Emmeline Zhao. Jim Roberts, previously the site鈥檚 publisher, continues to assist with the leadership transition as a contributing editor.

Under the joint leadership of Snyder and Roberts in recent years, 麻豆精品 has been recognized widely for its journalistic excellence with top industry awards, including The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award presented by the Online News Association, top news prizes from the Education Writers Association and the Insight Award for Visual Journalism from the Institute for Nonprofit News. 麻豆精品 has also quadrupled its overall readership and audience, and partnered in its storytelling with a growing universe of national outlets, including The Atlantic, Axios, The Guardian, Fast Company, The Texas Tribune, The Trace, Honolulu Civil Beat, The Boston Globe, AMNY and MinnPost.

In his announcement to 麻豆精品 team, Snyder wrote that he had already found himself inspired by Ridgway鈥檚 鈥渆nergy and enthusiasm 鈥� for empowering journalists to identify and craft impactful journalism, maintaining the highest of journalistic standards, and helping her teams elevate their work through awards, community impact and reaching new audiences.鈥� 

He also noted Ridgway鈥檚 鈥減assion for our mission, and her repeated celebration of 麻豆精品 as a student-focused newsroom that sets out daily to 鈥榗hallenge the status quo, expose corruption and inequality, spotlight solutions, confront the impact of systemic racism, and champion the heroes bringing positive change to our schools.鈥� 鈥�

鈥淯nder the leadership of Jim and Steve, 麻豆精品 has grown into one of the most dynamic and influential newsrooms covering the most important issue of our lifetime,鈥� said Romy Drucker, co-founder of 麻豆精品 and chair of the organization鈥檚 board of directors. 鈥淛im is a journalism legend and he has left an indelible mark on 麻豆精品 with his thoughtful approach to strengthening the nonprofit newsroom model. With Steve as CEO, 麻豆精品 is positioned to reach new heights in bringing insightful education storytelling to readers across the country.鈥� 

In his expanded role, Snyder will oversee both the content of the publication and the organization鈥檚 operations, including its strategic growth initiatives. He has been with the education news site since its inception in 2015 and worked closely with co-founders and current board members Campbell Brown and Romy Drucker in developing the newsroom鈥檚 voice, focus and strategy behind the broader 74 network. Prior to 麻豆精品, Snyder held various leadership positions at Time Magazine, People Magazine and NBC, where he both oversaw national news coverage and helped steer editorial innovations. 

Under the joint leadership of Snyder and Roberts, 麻豆精品 has been recognized widely for its journalistic excellence with top industry awards, including The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award presented by the Online News Association, top news prizes from the Education Writers Association and the Insight Award for Visual Journalism from the Institute for Nonprofit News. 麻豆精品 has also quadrupled its overall readership and audience, and partnered in its storytelling with a growing universe of national outlets, including The Atlantic, Axios, The Guardian, Fast Company, The Texas Tribune, The Trace, Honolulu Civil Beat, The Boston Globe, AMNY and MinnPost.

Snyder said, 鈥淎gainst a backdrop of historic declines in student scores, an alarming spike in school absenteeism and an escalating mental health crisis, 麻豆精品鈥檚 journalism has never felt more urgent or needed. I鈥檓 honored to be taking on this new role at this pivotal time and am grateful for our world-class team of journalists that make 麻豆精品 required reading every morning. I鈥檝e learned so much from Jim over the past three years about the digital news ecosystem and am determined to carry on his legacy of ensuring our student-first coverage reaches an ever wider universe of readers.鈥� 

Prior to joining 麻豆精品 in 2020, Roberts served in several newsroom leadership roles at Cheddar, Mashable, Reuters, and The New York Times, where he worked for more than 25 years. During his tenure as publisher, Roberts helped 麻豆精品 grow its revenue significantly by increasing its base of institutional donors threefold, establishing a membership program, as well as a major gifts effort, and introducing new sponsorship opportunities. Those financial resources have been used to expand the newsroom with the addition of new journalists and the launch of new reporting initiatives. Additionally, Roberts revamped 麻豆精品’s distribution system to scale the audience that its content reaches, and he led a year-long effort to modernize the organization鈥檚 design and brand identity. 

Roberts also spearheaded a new program in partnership with the USC-Annenberg School of Journalism to help train the next generation of education journalists.

鈥淎s a longtime reader of 麻豆精品, I was always impressed by its dedication to bringing the audience closer to what’s happening inside America’s schools,鈥� said Roberts. 鈥淎s publisher for the past three years, I strove to ensure that 麻豆精品’s coverage could reach a vastly bigger audience and that the editorial team had the necessary resources to produce award-winning journalism about the triumphs and failures of American education. As I step away from a day-to-day role, I am truly inspired by what 麻豆精品 has built and what the future holds. With Steve at the helm, 麻豆精品 has a CEO that cares deeply about journalism, about engaging storytelling and about expanding the reach of this news outlet. Education news has never been as important as it is today, and 麻豆精品 is in position to continue to lead in bringing these stories to students, parents, and educators across the country.” 

The leadership transition is set to conclude in early February. 麻豆精品 has now launched a national search for its next Editor in Chief, who will oversee daily news operations.