Resource Center

Stories

The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast.

These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need.

Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:



Search results for "teachers" ...

  • Locked Away

    "Locked Away" exposed a troubling fact: Some Ohio children with disabilities are isolated from their peers inside the so-called seclusion rooms – small cells, closets or old offices – as punishment when they misbehave or don’t follow teachers’ directions. But the state has no idea how often vulnerable children are sent to the rooms, nor could state officials say which schools used seclusion for their disabled students. Until reporters began work on “Locked Away,” no one had ever asked. The project, a joint effort by The Columbus Dispatch and StateImpact Ohio, has led to a statewide policy and rules to keep schools from misusing seclusion rooms.

    Tags: Education; children; disability; seclusion rooms

    By Jennifer Smith Richards; Molly Bloom; Ida Lieszkovszky

    The Columbus Dispatch

    2012

  • Daniel Acker Pension in Prison

    Teacher convicted of sexual molestation was receiving his pension while in prison.

    Tags: Sexual molestation; sexual offenders; teacher

    By Jon Paepcke

    WVTM-TV (Birmingham, Ala.)

    2012

  • FACT CHECK: Daniel Acker Report Ignored

    Through our investigation we found that a teacher, that was convicted of sexually molesting a student, was accused of a similar offense years before, but the report was not acted upon. We confronted former board members about the issue to find out why they did not remove the teacher from his position. Their answers were startling and exposed a process that is now in question.

    Tags: broadcast; teacher; students; sexual abuse; sex offense

    By Tom Allen

    WVTM-TV (Birmingham, Ala.)

    2012

  • Decades of Dishonor

    When the Boy Scout "perversion files" were released in October, we began reporting on a local sex offender accused of abuse in the 1980s. But it was just the tip of the iceberg, as we learned the man was a former teacher who had been dogged by abuse allegations for decades.

    Tags: Boy Scout; sex offender; sexual abuse; teacher

    By Shaun Hittle; Mike Yoder; Alex Parker

    Lawerence Journal-World

    2012

  • Cheating Our Children

    After using a sophisticated data analysis to expose anomalous gains on standardized tests in Atlanta Public Schools -- anomolies that were shown in 2011 to signal chearing at 44 schools -- the Atlanta Journal-Constitution set out in late 2011 to apply its analysis to school test scores nationwide.

    Tags: cheating; standardized tests; schools; teachers

    By John Perry, Heather Vogell, Alan Judd, M.B. Pell, Ken McCall

    Atlanta Journal-Constitution

    2012

  • Janitor Paid $100,000 to Travel

    This series exposed the outrageous hiring practices at the nation's sixth largest school district, casting a light on a system in which janitors and copy clerks were paid huge salaries as teachers- but barely set foot in the classroom. Ultimately, the reporting effort saved taxpayers $1 million, led to pay cuts for 59 employees, and resulted in stricter oversight of the Broward County School District.

    Tags: Broward County School District; Hiring; School; Taxpayer

    By Cara Fitzpatrick

    Sun-Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

    2011

  • Questions Are Raised on Restraint Training

    This examination detailed how school districts across California have relied on dubious techniques developed by an obscure industry to physically restrain unruly students. While few of these restraint maneuvers are grounded in evidence-based research, they are used to subdue students who are emotionally disturbed or mentally disabled -- some of the most difficult and sensitive situations that teachers encounter. The story also found that there is little regulatory oversight of the restraint industry.

    Tags: California; students; restraint

    By Jennifer Gollan

    The Bay Citizen

    2011

  • Testing the System

    The story focused on mandated state standardized tests and whether radical gains in scores in some schools or classrooms were real or the product of cheating.

    Tags: standardized tests; No Child Left Behind; tests; MAP tests; classroom; teachers; cheating

    By Marisol Bello; Jack Gillum; Greg Toppo; Jodi Upton; Linda Matthews;

    USA Today (Arlington

    2011

  • Investigative work of Mike Wilksinson

    The work samples of Mike Wilkinson are entries for the Gannett Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism. The first story shows how some struggling school districts are paying exorbitant teacher salaries. Another finds that a local television station's segments called "Best School Districts" are advertorials. The final story tracks the murder rates among young black men.

    Tags: teacher pay; teacher salary; murder rates; advertising; school districts

    By Mike Wilkinson; Shawn D. Lewis; Santiago Esparza

    Detroit News

    2010

  • Dance of the Lemons

    The story focuses on teachers in the Los Angeles school system that lack the skills or desire to teach their students.

    Tags: teacher; unfit teachers; schools; public school; teaching

    By Beth Barrett

    LA Weekly

    2010