Resist the urge to dismiss the Fauci hearing if you can, because Fauci was at the center of so many school-related decisions and the hearing is an important opportunity for educators and education journalists to reflect, reconsider, and rebuild trust with the people they serve.

Big thanks to The 74 for covering the Fauci story, which is for me as much an education story as anything else: www.the74million.org/article/in-d...

In Diary, Fauci Bragged of Role in School Closures. At Hearing, He Took the 5th

‘Children lost years of education,’ Sen. Rand Paul said, as Democrats accused the Kentucky Republican of ‘relitigating the past.’

the74million.org

The push back against edtech is indeed about so much more than "screen time". @alexanderrusso.bsky.social sums it up so well here: "The backlash isn’t just about technology. It’s also about trust, consent, and coherence." alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/rage-again...

Rage, remorse, & edtech inevitability

Parental rage, educator remorse, & lackluster results have stripped edtech of its seeming inevitability — and created a much-needed opportunity for journalists to demonstrate their value.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

NEW: Education reporting in the age of AI alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/education-... The peril and the promise of AI in schools "exist simultaneously," says journalist Lee Gaines — though AI's benefits can easily reinforce pre-existing inequalities.

Education reporting in the age of AI

Listen now | The peril and the promise of AI in schools "exist simultaneously," says journalist Lee Gaines — though AI's benefits can easily reinforce pre-existing inequalities.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

Also: Screentime, or screen time? Edtech, or ed tech?

Michael Petrilli@michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 4w ago

Hey folks, are we calling it the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit or the Education Freedom Tax Credit? @mattbarnum.bsky.social @danagoldstein.bsky.social @alexanderrusso.bsky.social @jenjennings.bsky.social

NEW: For the beat to thrive, newsroom leaders, support organizations, and funders are going to have to leap into the messy new world of influencers, short-form videos, and AI-assisted news. alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/how-to-mod... #EWA26 @edwriters.bsky.social

It's way past time to modernize the education beat

For the beat to thrive, newsroom leaders, support organizations, and funders are going to have to leap into the messy new world of influencers, short-form videos, and AI-assisted news.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

You have to love that at #ewa26 — the premiere gathering of education journalists — the line to ask questions of panelists presenting on Workforce Pell is twice as long as the line to grill the very needle-thready governor of Maryland.

Congratulations to the 2025 winners of the National Awards for Education Reporting! Category winners received recognition during #ewa26 today. See the full list of winners here: ewa.org/members-news... #ewaAWARDS #eduSKY #journalistSKY #ewa26

Olivia Krauth and Krishna Sharma are live at this #ewa26 session! One is an independent journalist. The other is an engagement editor in a traditional newsroom. They’re sharing tips about reaching audiences. Janet Woojeong Lee is moderating the session. #journalistSKY #eduSKY #ewa26

Education beat legend Liz Bowie of @thebaltimorebanner.com interviews @govwesmoore.bsky.social at #EWA26.

What happens when students do everything right, but the transfer system still makes it difficult to succeed? Join Aspen at @edwriters.bsky.social's #EWA26 for “Understanding the Highs and Lows of the College Transfer Journey.” Learn more: ewa.org/events/upcom... // @the74.bsky.social

The 79th EWA National Seminar in Baltimore has begun! We look forward to connecting more with everyone this week. Check out some scenes from our welcome reception on Instagram. www.instagram.com/p/DZGkeVdjY3... #ewa26 #journalistSKY #eduSKY

In honor of her Wednesday appearance at #EWA26: The radicalization of Erica Green Full interview: alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/the-radica... #ewa26

this graduation speech moment is notable, and her amazed shock at having failed to read the room feels instructive. when you're inside the bubble, you think everybody else is. but everybody isn't.

On Friday, New York governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York — the first large blue state that I can think of — will participate in the federal tuition tax credit program (EdWeek, Chalkbeat, Politico). So will Colorado (Chalkbeat). Monday bonus: alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/blue-state...

Blue states choose choice, World Cup ends school early in Mexico, & opening up the EWA conference?

Weekend highlights -- plus Friday's secret bonus section revealed.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

Anytime I post about literacy I have to mention the great Emily Hanford who has so closely covered the subject state governments have responded to her reporting. Sold a Story is one of the most comprehensive, long-term reporting coverage ever produced. features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong

There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on...

features.apmreports.org

Louisiana and Mississippi cheer. Phonics instruction has returned to Louisiana after it was cast aside for the “whole language approach” that focused on memorizing words and using context clues to read. From me last year: thelensnola.org/2025/06/04/k...

K-3 reading improves as Louisiana continues early-literacy focus | The Lens

Armed by scientific studies, reading experts urged a resurgence of phonics, which helps children learn to read by sounding-out words, in a way well-known to older generations. But the state's third gr...

thelensnola.org

NPR@npr.org · 3mo ago

Oregon's public schools rank last in fourth-grade reading, according to an analysis of national testing. As a wake-up call for elected leaders, Pencil is running for governor as a write-in candidate. n.pr/4fdGSf6

Fresh off his spicy rebuke of a misguided ed research takedown in The Argument, the USC education professor gets real about education research, media coverage — and why he's not back on Twitter yet. Don't mess with Morgan Polikoff alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/morgan-pol...

Don't mess with Morgan Polikoff

Fresh off his spicy rebuke of a misguided ed research takedown in The Argument, the USC education professor gets real about education research, media coverage — and why he's not back on Twitter yet.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

My latest on @alexanderrusso.bsky.social The Grade is about discussing, and journalists covering, stories of online manipulation of kids & the importance of covering red flags & ways that kids can be better protected from predatory content @perilresearch.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/alexande...

How to cover online manipulation of students — without exacerbating the problem

Online extremism and radicalization are affecting students, educators, and families. We need prevention-focused media coverage that doesn’t sensationalize outlier scenarios.

open.substack.com

Important story by @eshockmanwrites.bsky.social “We had reached a saturation point”... ICE agents were “literally swarming all over the schools, day in and day out, in the morning, in the middle of the day ... on the weekends. We just decided that we couldn't even have a bigger target on our back.”

MPR News@mprnews.org · 6mo ago

When U.S. Immigration and Customs agents first descended on families in Columbia Heights schools, superintendent Zena Stenvik smoldered but stayed quiet. Then federal agents came for 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, and silence was no longer an option.

Every word of this @eshockmanwrites.bsky.social @mprnews.org piece about teachers in Columbia Heights crossing a Rubicon of trauma will hit you in the soul.

‘Time to speak up’: In Columbia Heights, school leaders stepped in to protect families as ICE surged

As federal immigration agents descended on Columbia Heights families, the school superintendent expected to stay silent. Then federal agents came for 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, and s...

mprnews.org

📌 SFUSD strike raises tough questions 📌 They’re even homeschooling in Chicago now 📌 The Epstein Files & education 📣 Favorite Substacks & interview previews in a special new section! 📣 🏆 Best Education Journalism of the Week 🏆(2/13/2026) alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/teachers-s...

Strike dilemma, Epstein and education, & homeschooling in Chicago: 🏆 Best Education Journalism of the Week 🏆 (2/13/2026)

All the best education journalism, media commentary, & newsroom changes.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

I really enjoyed this conversation on The Grade about why I started writing about MCPS: as a parent, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Thanks @alexanderrusso.bsky.social for the great stories and strategies. alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/whys-a-geo... Interested? noraegordon.substack.com

Why's a Georgetown economist covering Montgomery County schools?

“Journalists can’t probe and provide context in the same way I can,” says the Georgetown professor behind a new Substack. However, she doesn’t have to “explain everything” the way journalists do.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

“Journalists don’t probe and provide context in the same way I can." - @NoraEGordon NEW: Why's a Georgetown economist covering Montgomery County schools? alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/whys-a-geo...

Why's a Georgetown economist covering Montgomery County schools?

“Journalists don’t probe and provide context in the same way I can,” says the Georgetown professor behind a new Substack. However, she doesn’t “explain everything” the way journalists have to.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

NEW: All the best education journalism, media commentary, & newsroom changes. ICE interference, "We are the media now," & WaPo ed beat layoffs: 🏆 Best Education Journalism of the Week 🏆 (02/06/26) alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/ice-interf...

ICE interference, "We are the media now," & WaPo ed beat layoffs 🏆 Best Education Journalism of the Week 🏆 (02/06/26)

All the best education journalism, media commentary, & newsroom changes.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

Hi @eshockmanwrites.bsky.social - I know you must be exhausted, but I'd love to bring your insights and experiences covering the Minneapolis ICE story to other journalists. Here are some questions. A sentence is fine. I'm also asking @bzosiad.bsky.social, @bethhawkins.bsky.social, & others.

I talked with @alexanderrusso.bsky.social of The Grade recently about journalism's shaky present and uncertain future. I hope you'll watch and listen. alexanderrusso.substack.com/p/bridging-t...

The 'softness' of traditional day-to-day news

Watch now | Media columnist Dan Kennedy thinks legacy journalism needs to strengthen day-to-day news coverage and add nontraditional approaches — but not a wholesale reinvention.

alexanderrusso.substack.com

I just got off the phone with Elizabeth's dad...she and her mom were freed tonight! Updated story: sahanjournal.com/education/co...

Columbia Heights fourth-grader released after a month in ICE detention

Columbia Heights Public Schools says three of its students are still in federal immigration custody after the release of Liam Conejo Ramos and 10-year-old Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano.

sahanjournal.com

Becky Zosia Dernbach@bzosiad.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Elizabeth is a Columbia Heights fourth-grader who loves volleyball, learning English and giggling in the halls with her friends. She's been held in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for nearly a month, and she and her mom have both fallen ill. sahanjournal.com/education/co...

@lilyalta.bsky.social has a great look at the rule and the issue. Oh and hey — @chalkbeat.org — good get hiring Lily! 2/

ICE is ‘at the school yard gate.’ Here’s what it means that agents are getting closer.

One legal expert said even up until recently, “it would have been pretty unthinkable” for ICE to come onto school grounds like agents did at Roosevelt High in Minneapolis.

chalkbeat.org

My latest: Minnesota school districts, @educationmn.bsky.social go to court seeking reinstatement of the 'sensitive locations' rule, which would keep immigration enforcement actions away from schools, bus stops, churches, healthcare facilities, etc. Was the rule of the land for 30+ years 1/

Minnesota Districts, Teachers Union Sue Federal Government for Targeting Schools

Educators demand reinstatement of a decades-old policy prohibiting most immigration enforcement near ‘sensitive locations’ like schools and bus stops

the74million.org