Category: Education
The state of New York rural schools: Left behind
The Olean Times Herald, a Western New York daily, spent a year investigating the education system in rural school districts, which account for roughly 300 of the more than 700 districts statewide. It found rural districts — with shrinking enrollments and a declining tax base — see a high rate of student migration between districts…
District blames ex-employee for Nashville schools’ failure to report teacher-misconduct cases
The vast majority of misconduct allegations against teachers in Nashville schools aren’t regularly reported to the state, an investigation from the Tennessean found. The director of schools is required by law to report certain teacher misconduct when employees are suspended, terminated or resign. But he only reported one such case in the last year — out…
Years of sexual assault cases within a school district were kept secret
A FOX31 investigation into a large, affluent Colorado school district found that administrators have failed to report dozens of sexual assault cases involving both students and administrators for years. At least four Cherry Creek School District employees have been arrested since 2016 for sexual assault-related incidents, and a school’s principal, assistant principal and counselor were…
$8 million of differential tuition being spent without input from students who pay it
An investigation by The Utah Statesman has found that the students at Utah State University School of Business pay significantly more money in tuition than other students at the university. The school claims this tuition is monitored by a board composed of students, faculty, and staff; however, that board does not exist. The school receives…
Lapses in student safety at federally run boarding school
Chemawa Indian School is supposed to offer an academic home preparing students for college or careers in a safe and stable setting. It’s seen as a refuge for Native high schoolers across the West. But an OPB investigation found the Salem school struggles to spend taxpayer money wisely, educate students and even keep them safe.…
inewsource podcast on Gompers Preparatory Academy
inewsource just produced its first, feature-length podcast. So put in your headphones and listen to the story of Gompers Preparatory Academy as told through interviews with teachers, students and the journalists that worked on the ongoing investigation into allegations of grade inflation at one of San Diego’s most lauded charter schools.
Florida private schools rake in nearly $1 billion in state scholarships with little oversight
An Orlando Sentinel investigation found that Florida awards millions of dollars in scholarships to private schools without hardly any oversight. The lack of regulation, The Sentinel found, allowed one principal being investigated for molesting a student to open another school under a new name and still get scholarship money, and it allowed another school to…
Choice creates winners – and losers – across Twin Cities metro
A three-part series by the Minneapolis Star Tribune highlights how school choice is changing the landscape for districts in the Twin Cities. The Star Tribune obtained open enrollment data broken down by race of the student, which district the students live in, and which district (or charter district) they are attending. The data shows that…
Oregon school district helped an educator evade allegations of sexual misconduct
An investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive shows how Oregon’s largest school district helped an educator evade sexual misconduct allegations. Reporters reviewed police reports, personnel records and state and district investigations into Mitch Whitehurst, who worked in Portland Public Schools for 32 years despite mounting complaints. The Oregonian also interviewed victims. Records and interviews showed the system…
Low-income students excluded from honors track
Counted Out, a three-part series from the News & Observer proves that bright, low-income students are excluded from rigorous, more advanced classes when compared with their higher income peers. This occurs throughout the K-12 process. The stories rely on seven years of student-level data on every student in North Carolina public schools, about 1.2 million…