Welcome to EWA’s 2010 National Seminar, the 63rd annual meeting of the Education Writers Association!

This year’s program takes on difficult subjects, ranging from dropouts to financial aid in tough economic times to ways reporters can investigate the assumptions behind policy reform. This booklet includes the agenda, hotel layout, session descriptions, speaker biographies and contacts. It also lists the winners of the 2009 National Awards for Education Reporting. EWA welcomes 11 exhibitors this year; a description of their offerings is on the next page.

Meeting Sponsors The Board extends very special thanks to this year’s sponsors, who made generous direct or in-kind contributions to the 63rd National Seminar.

Platinum Level ($12,500 and over) Supporters (Up to $2,499) Lumina Foundation for Education Inside Higher Ed The Pew Charitable Trusts Education Development Center The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism American Institutes for Research Annie E. Casey Foundation The First Five Years Fund The Wallace Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur CommunicationWorks Foundation Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Gold Level ($7,500-$12,499) American Council on Education Carnegie Corporation of New York MDRC National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Silver Level ($2,500-$7,499) Wellesley Center on Women and Girls Educational Testing Service Spencer Research Panel on Latino Children and Families The Kauffman Foundation Pre-K Now WestEd National School Safety and Security Services National Association of Charter School National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorizers Hager Sharp The Joyce Foundation EdSource The Foundation for Educational Choice Jobs for the Future Education Week The Hegeler Institute

1 EWA is pleased to welcome the following organizations and companies to the 2010 meeting. We encourage you to visit their tables during breaks.

Exhibitor Descriptions

American Council on Education – Recent press releases and reports include Gender Equity in Higher Education: 2010, The American College President, The CAO Census: A National Profile of Chief Academic Officers, Minorities in Higher Education 23rd Status Report and 2009 supplement and others.

American Institutes for Research – Brochures about the types of work AIR does, booklets listing names and contact information for its experts and recent reports – including one on California’s fiscal crisis, which is being released at the conference – will be available.

Annie E. Casey Foundation –Information on its Kids Count report coming out May 18 will be provided. Handouts on issues such as chronic absence and summer learning loss also will be available.

ASCD – ASCD’s Healthy School Communities promotes the integration of health and learning and the benefits of school-community collaborations. Learn about the Nine Levers of School Change identified in our three-year pilot of school-community partnerships. Case studies, video profiles and an executive summary of the pilot are just some of the resources on display.

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism – The mission of Columbia’s master’s programs is to give students the tools that will help them over the long term as journalists. Brochures, postcards, pamphlets and magazines will be available at the table. For more information about programs and scholarship opportunities, visit the website at www.journalism.columbia.edu.

First Five Years Fund – Nonprofit organization aims to focus nationwide attention and resources on comprehensive, high-quality early learning experiences for children from birth to age five.

Foundation for Educational Choice – Informational pieces on the topic of school choice and education reform.

Jobs For the Future – The latest results will be available from JFF’s four national programs centered around community college: the Early College High School Initiative, Achieving the Dream, Breaking Through and the health care-focused Jobs to Careers.

MDRC – The nonprofit, nonpartisan education research firm will display its studies of programs that make a difference in improving student performance in preschool, K-12 and postsecondary education.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards – The organization administers National Board Certification for teachers and is developing National Board Certification for Principals. National Board Certification has been recognized by the National Research Council for its positive impact on student achievement and teacher retention.

Wallace Foundation – For the past decade, the foundation has worked with states, districts, city governments and community organizations around the country to expand learning and enrichment opportunities both in and out of schools. Wallace shares its ideas and practices on education leadership, out-of-school learning and arts education through national surveys, summaries of field knowledge, practical guides and profiles of Wallace partners.

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Welcome, Sponsors and Thank You...... 1

Exhibitors...... 2

Hotel Map...... 4

At-A-Glance Conference Agenda...... 5-7

Thursday Afternoon Sessions...... 8-9

Thursday Evening Opening Session...... 10

Friday Sessions...... 10-13

Special Associates Sessions...... 9

Friday Luncheon...... 11

Saturday Sessions...... 13-15

Saturday Luncheon...... 15

Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting...... 16

Contest Winners...... 17-22

EWA Presidents, EWA Board, Staff...... 23

Speaker Bios and Contact Information...... 24-34

Ads...... 36

3 Hotel Map

Classrooms:

Imperial Ballroom A and B Sakura Spring A Spring B and C Osaka Kyoto Suite Garden A and B

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Spring B and C Early Childhood Building Bridges

Spring A New EWA Resources

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Satur May 15 8:00-9:00 a.m. 9:00-10:15 a.m. 10:30 a.m. - Noon 12:15-2:15 p.m. 2:30-3:45 p.m.

7 Thursday, May 13

Exhibitor Set Up: 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. – Imperial Foyer

1:00 - 3:45 p.m. New Media - Spring B and C Blogging full-time, using social media as a reporting tool and tracking stimulus and other federal money will be the focus of EWA’s New Media sessions. 1:00 - 2:15 p.m. Full-time Online Publishing 2.0 Presiding: Linda Lenz, Catalyst Chicago, Catalyst Cleveland and EWA Board Member Your newsroom is dwindling but you enjoy your beat and you want to find a way to stay on it. More reporters are becoming online journalists. Editors describe developing business models along with writing. Alan Gottlieb covered education full-time at the Denver Post. Now he runs an online publication on education called EducationNewsColorado. Linda Lenz is founder and publisher of both Catalyst Chicago and Catalyst Cleveland, which became online only publications. And Louis Freedberg, director of California Watch, was formerly with the San Francisco Chronicle.

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Social Media as a Reporting Tool Presiding: Scott Elliott, Dayton Daily News Social media like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter can come in handy for reporters, especially reporters overwhelmed with duties and beats. But what else is out there? Mark S. Luckie, author of The Digital Journalist’s Handbook, offers insights into new tools. Alexander Russo, of the This Week in Education blog, tells reporters why they should rely on Twitter and Facebook.

3:45 - 5:00 p.m. Using Federal Data on the Higher Ed Beat - Spring B and C Presiding: Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle The Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS) and QuickStats are highlighted in this presentation by MPR Associates researcher Laura Horn.

2:30- 3:45 p.m. Financial Crisis in California Schools - Osaka (repeat 3:45-5:00 p.m.) Presiding: Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, Kathryn Baron, Edutopia and EWA Board Member The American Institutes of Research will release a report analyzing the financial crisis in California schools and how it ties to the rest of the country. AIR researchers Thomas Parrish and Larisa Shambaugh will review the findings and offer advice how to look at state financial crises.

2:30 – 3:45 p.m. Tracking Federal Stimulus Dollars - Garden B (repeat 3:45 - 5:00 p.m.) Presiding: Nirvi Shah, Miami Herald EWA has a way for journalists to track stimulus dollars (including Race to the Top and other innovation funds) through our website, EdMoney.org. Matt Waite of Hot Type Consulting and one of the creators of Politifact, explains how to use and contribute to the database.

Note: EWA Public Editor Linda Perlstein will be available to meet with reporters one-on-one throughout the conference in Garden B (except Thursday afternoon). Please email her at [email protected]

8 1:00 - 4:30 p.m. Education Reporters New to the Beat: Getting a Handle on the Basics – Spring A Presiding: Linda Perlstein, EWA Public Editor Getting a grip on all the debates, policies, budgets and daily details on the education beat can be overwhelming for a new reporter. There are also the simpler daily quandaries such as deciding when and how to visit schools and keeping on top of school board maneuverings EWA public editor Linda Perlstein, David Hunn of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and Beth Shuster of the Los Angeles Times help education journalists understand key issues and student populations, place local stories in national context and develop tools and routines to stay on top of the beat.

1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Associate Members Special Session – Kyoto (Please note that these sessions are for associate members, not journalists) Presiding: Marie Groark, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and EWA Vice President and EWA Board members Rodney Ferguson of Lipman Hearne, Cornelia Grumman of First Five Years Fund and Kent Fischer of GMMB 1:00 – 2:15 p.m. New Models, Part 1 – New Models – Getting into the Fray: The Role of Interest Groups David Griesing, former business columnist for the Chicago Tribune, has joined the Chicago News Cooperative, with the specific charge of creating the first Education News Interest Network. CNC has partners in and around Chicago and will publish with the New York Times to cover the news in Chicago. They want to engage everyone in education to help them report the news – what does this mean for communications, research and other education firms?

2:15 – 3:30 p.m. New Models, Part 2 – New Models –New Nonprofts Covering Bay-Area News Former San Francisco Chronicle reporter Louis Freedberg developed California Watch to provide thorough coverage of public issues as media was downsizing. It is housed within the Center for Investigative Reporting and is focused mainly on investigative reporting of statewide issues, including education and immigration. Bruce Koon, news director of KQED, describes the changing role of area public radio stations with the decline of print media and the growth of NPR. New America Media's Sandip Roy recounts the national coalition of ethnic and community media's support of news organizations often unreached by traditional means.

3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Meet the New EWA Executive Director and EWA Board Members

5:15 - 6:45 p.m. Special Dinner: What if Tests Weren’t Multiple Choice? - The Future of Assessments – Sakura Presiding: Linda Lenz, Catalyst Chicago and Catalyst Cleveland and EWA Board Member We are all familiar with “fill in the bubble” standardized tests. Yet Jim Gee of Arizona State University, Dan Schwartz of Stanford University and Connie Yowell of the MacArthur Foundation argue that technology offers more powerful options. They describe how digital media can change assessment, including how games, social networks and other technologies can alter the future of testing and what may come out of Race to the Top funding.

EWA thanks the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for sponsoring this dinner.

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63rd National Seminar

Examining the Evidence

7:00 - 8:30 p.m. – Imperial Ballroom Welcome and Presiding: Dale Mezzacappa, Philadelphia Public School Notebook and EWA President Introduction: Cornelia Grumman, First Five Years Fund and EWA Board Member

Waiting for Superman EWA’s featured speaker is Davis Guggenheim, Oscar-winning director of “An Inconvenient Truth.” His upcoming controversial documentary, “Waiting for Superman,” looks at school reform and the state of urban education.

Reception: 8:30 - 10:30 p.m. – Sakura A

EWA thanks First Five Years Fund for its generous contribution that makes the reception possible.

Friday, May 14

7:45 - 9:00 a.m. - Continental Breakfast – Sakura

8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Breakfast Briefing: The Future of Graduate Education – Sakura Presiding: Mary Beth Marklein, USA Today Thomas Van Essen, director of external research at the Educational Testing Service, will discuss significant changes to the GRE in August 2011. He will brief attendees about new ways to gauge student attributes and how they are connected to success. He also will discuss the findings from the new report by the Commission on the Future of Graduate Education that warns the reputation of U.S. graduate education is threatened by growing international competition.

EWA thanks the Educational Testing Service for sponsoring this breakfast.

9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. - Plenary Sessions What is Innovation? Are the federal government’s priorities the right ones? – Imperial Ballroom Presiding: Virginia Edwards, Education Week The new administration is making education reform competitive with the Race to the Top grants and the Innovation funds, but is it using the right criteria. Rick Hess, education policy director at the American Enterprise Institute, likes the competition among states but thinks the administration is heading in the wrong direction. Ed Haertel of Stanford University headed a National Academies of Science committee that made recommendations to the U.S. Department of Education on ways to revamp Race to the Top. Charles Barone is director of federal policy for Democrats for Education Reform, which supports the administration’s agenda.

10 Getting There From Here: The 2020 Goals – Osaka Presiding: Ben Wildavsky, Kauffman Foundation When President Obama was elected, he proposed sweeping changes to higher education, including reforming financial aid and increasing graduation rates to make the United States more competitive with other countries. What is our progress more than a year later? American Council on Education vice president Terry Hartle, California State University East Bay president Mo Qayoumi and higher education consultant Art Hauptman give a status report.

EWA thanks Lumina Foundation for Education for its support of the higher education sessions at this meeting.

10:15 - 10:45 a.m. Morning Break – Imperial Foyer

10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Plenary Sessions How Do You Measure Merit for Teachers? – Imperial Ballroom Presiding: Beth Shuster, Los Angeles Times How do you measure a teacher’s performance? One yardstick that is gaining popularity is using student performance through “value-added” testing - measuring through test scores how much worth a teacher might have provided over the year. While it might seem simple to a layperson, experts say the issue is more complex. George Noell of Louisiana State University lays out the experiment that state is conducting with value-added measures. Henry Braun of Boston College reviews the research through a skeptical eye. A superintendent describes his district’s efforts. National Education Association president Dennis Van Roekel offers a teacher’s viewpoint. How Do You Judge Community Colleges? – Osaka Presiding: Camille Esch, New American Foundation in California Community colleges were a lynchpin of President Obama’s ambitious higher education goals. His original proposal would pump hundreds of millions of dollars into community colleges. But can community colleges do it all? Can community college performance be measured adequately, given the myriad roles they must play? What role does money play? Gail Mellow, president of LaGuardia Community College; Cassius Johnson of Jobs for the Future; and Rick Mattoon, senior economist at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, explain.

12:15 - 2:00 p.m. Luncheon: The Future of Education Journalism – Sakura

Presiding: Dale Mezzacappa, Philadelphia Public School Notebook and EWA President

Is this time of crisis in the industry an opportunity for journalists covering education to find new - and better - models? A roundtable discussion focuses on new models and insights into how reporters can better cover education issues. Scott Jaschik, editor of Inside Higher Ed; Richard Colvin, executive director of the Hechinger Institute for Education and the Media; Steve Barr, president of Green Dot Schools; Alan Mutter, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Reflections of a Newsosaur blogger; and Chicago News Cooperative’s Jim O’Shea debate.

EWA thanks Lumina Foundation for Education, the Kauffman Foundation, Education Week and Inside Higher Education for their generous support of this lunch and discussion.

11 2:15 - 3:30 p.m. - Concurrent Sessions Reporters’ Roundtable: The Polarized Education Conversation – Spring B and C Presiding: Linda Perlstein, EWA Public Editor The education debate has become a war between “sides,” which tend to be drawn in the starkest terms. Charter schools, merit pay, Michelle Rhee: These are either the answer or anathema, depending on where you sit and advocates press their case as if running political campaigns. Journalists are caught in the crossfire. Even the most balanced reporting infuriates one side or the other (or both), sometimes to the point of denigration and denied access and education writers may feel pressure to emphasize the black-and-white conflict even when they feel shades of gray more accurately reflect the reality of their reporting. EWA’s Linda Perlstein, Jennifer Medina of the New York Times and Greg Toppo of USA Today lead a conversation about the effects of this polarization on the practice of journalism and how to manage the challenge. Tracking College Budgets – Osaka Presiding: Erica Perez, California Watch College budgets, especially at this time of budget crisis, are essential to higher education coverage. Josh Keller of the Chronicle of Higher Education and Ryan Gabrielson, a Center for Investigative Reporting fellow, will review how reporters can track college spending at the four-year universities as well as community colleges. Where should journalists look and what questions should they ask to get the information they need? Evaluating Charter Schools – Spring A Presiding: Kit Lively, Vanderbilt University Reporters struggle with processing apparently conflicting research on charter schools. So many groups have vested interest for and against charter schools that it’s difficult to tell the good research from the bad. Margaret Raymond, a researcher at Stanford University, Eva Moskowitz, former New York City School Board member and founder of the Success Charter Network in Harlem and Kit Lively, former Dallas Morning News education editor, offer advice.

Early Education: Seeing Quality Classrooms – Kyoto Presiding: Cornelia Grumman, First Five Years Fund and EWA Board Member A set of videotapes show early education classrooms at their best and at their not-so-good. First Five Years Fund’s Lisa Vahey walks reporters through the tapes to show them how to tell whether what they’re watching is a model classroom. Pre-K teacher Kira Hamann describes her personal experience with training and now teaching. 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. - Concurrent Sessions Top 10 Higher Education Story Ideas – Osaka Presiding: Eric Ferreri, Raleigh News & Observer Inside Higher Ed editor Scott Jaschik runs one of the most popular sessions at EWA conferences, offering tips and advice on stories that reporters should look for in the coming year. He walks through likely trends for the year and puts various activities into context. Judging Assessments – Spring A Presiding: Kathryn Baron, Edutopia and EWA Board Member How can you tell if your district and state are using standardized tests in appropriate ways? How high-quality are the tests? Education Testing Service expert Tom Van Essen and WestEd researcher Stanley Rabinowitz walk journalists through how to judge the assessments used and the way they’re used.

12 Speed Sour cing With Researchers – Sakura A Need national contacts for stories? Want to get some quick context for hot-button issues you’re working on? Researchers are available to talk one-on-one about their latest research and ways you can use it as a reporter. You can rotate after a few minutes from researcher to researcher. Or, if you prefer, select a couple whom you’d like to quiz more in-depth. The researchers are: Bruce Fuller, University of California Berkeley, early childhood education; Rick Hess, American Enterprise Institute, school choice; Laura Horn, MPR Associates, college completion; Tom Parrish, American Institutes for Research, special education finance and school finance; Steve Schneider, WestEd, math and science issues; Terry Vendlinski, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing, assessment.

How to Tell if Your Teacher Pension Fund is Underfunded – Kyoto Presiding: Scott Stephens, Catalyst Cleveland A lot of public pension plans are in trouble – including those for educators. The Manhattan Institute released a report by Stuart Buck last month warning that unless changes are made, fixed-benefit plans could end up taking more and more of school district and state budgets. John Abraham of the American Federation of Teachers contends that it’s not the funds that are the problem, it’s the governments’ unwillingness to underwrite them properly. Both offer perspectives on how reporters might gauge the health of their states’ pension funds.

SATURDAY, MAY 15

7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Breakfast – Imperial Foyer 8:00 - 8:45 a.m. Annual EWA Business Meeting: EWA: 2009-10 and Beyond – Imperial Ballroom Presiding: Dale Mezzacappa, Philadelphia Public School Notebook and EWA president, Lisa Walker, EWA executive director Open discussion of proposed changes to EWA.

9:00 - 10:15 a.m. Plenary Sessions Turning Around Failing Schools – Imperial Ballroom Presiding: Stephanie Banchero, Wall Street Journal and EWA Vice President A lynchpin reform for Race to the Top funding is turning around the lowest performing schools. The federal government is pressing for reform in those schools more drastic and wide-reaching than we have seen in the past. When and how should this change take place? Justin Cohen, president of the School Turnaround Group for Mass Insight, provides a historical perspective on the wheres and whys of turnaround schools. Andy Smarick, visiting senior scholar at the Fordham Institute, voices concern that turnaround isn’t the most effective reform for failing schools. And Nancy Guzman, principal of Sterling Elementary School in Charlotte, NC, gives insights into her efforts to turn around failing schools in North and South Carolina.

13 Where Do Low-Income, High-Achieving Kids Go to College and Why – Osaka Presiding: Katherine Unmuth, Dallas Morning News Affluent students with low SAT scores are more likely to graduate from college than high-achieving students from poor families. Two reports have delved into why many high-achieving, low-income students don’t make it to colleges, especially not to top-tier schools they are qualified for. The Consortium on Chicago School Research tracked where Chicago high school students went to school and University of Chicago researcher Jenny Nagaoka spells out conclusions from that research. Matt Chingos, a Ph.D. student at Harvard University, collaborated on a book, Crossing the Finish Line, looking at the national picture. High school valedictorian Karen Cardenas recount sher personal story.

10:15 - 10:45 a.m. Morning Break – Imperial Foyer

10:45 - 12:00 p.m. - Plenary Sessions Judging the National Standards – Imperial Ballroom Presiding: Nick Anderson, Washington Post The Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association have collaborated on a set of voluntary standards for states to adapt that could provide the United States with its first set of national standards. The U.S. Department of Education is encouraging these standards in its Race to the Top goals. But some state officials say the standards aren’t as rigorous as their own. Michael Cohen, president of Achieve, one of the first organizations to push national standards, Mitchell Chester, Massachusetts education commissioner and Jack Jennings, president of the Center for Education Policy, hash out the issues.

Bridging Gaps: Connecting the Early Years with the Early Grades – Spring B and C Presiding: Lisa Guernsey, New America Foundation With the growth of public preschool programs across the country, attention is shifting toward how to build stronger links between those programs to the elementary schools children will attend. Many experts on early learning argue that any benefits from high-quality preschool won’t last if those programs are not connected to the K-12 system in areas such as standards, joint professional development for teachers and classroom practices. Speakers on this topic will be Marci Young of Pre-K Now, Linda Sullvian-Dudzic of the Bremerton, Wash. school district and Ralph Smith of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The Future of Humanities in Higher Education: Beginning of the End? – Osaka Presiding: Scott Elliott, Dayton Daily News and EWA Secretary Many arts and humanities programs are struggling to stay afloat amid financial woes, rising demand for skilled workers and waning interest from students. Are liberal arts programs destined to become a luxury that only elite, private colleges can afford to provide? Debra Humphreys of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and James Cantanzaro of Chattanooga State Community College discuss whether humanities can and should be saved.

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12:15-2:15 p.m. Luncheon - Sakura 2010 Martin Buskin Memorial Lecture Joan Walsh, Editor in Chief of Salon.com And Presentation of the National Awards for Education Reporting and the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize

Presiding: Dale Mezzacappa, Philadelphia Public School Notebook and EWA President Introduction: Kathryn Baron, Edutopia and EWA Board Member

EWA thanks American Institutes for Research for its generous support of the awards luncheon. The Hegeler Institute supports the Buskin Lecture through a continuing grant.

2:30 - 3:45 p.m. - Concurrent Sessions Author, Author – Osaka Presiding: Kathryn Baron, Edutopia and EWA Board Member What does it take to transform articles into books? How much time can you dedicate? How do you organize? How do you get paid? Is it worth the effort? Three authors will talk to you about what it takes to become an author. Ben Wildavsky talks about his book, The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities are Reshaping the World, Beth Fertig describes her efforts for Why cant u teach me 2 read? Three Students and a Mayor Put Our Schools to the Test and Helen Thorpe offers perspective on her account of Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America.

New EWA Resources – Spring A Presiding: Linda Perlstein, EWA Public Editor EWA is launching three new databases – one connecting journalists to nearly 1,000 education sources, another on tracking stimulus dollars and the third linking freelancers to those wanting to hire them. Linda Perlstein walks you through the new searchable source database and how to access the best people to give your story context. Matt Waite shows you how to track stimulus dollars and Raven Hill demonstrates how to add yourself to the freelance database or access it for hiring.

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Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting Contest Year Winner 1972 John Matthews, Washington Star 1973 William Grant, Detroit Free Press 1974 James Nolan and Linda Stahl, Louisville Courier-Journal 1975 Jonathan Neumann, Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, Mass.) 1976 James Worsham and Marguerite Del Guidice, Boston Globe 1977 Lou Antosh, Philadelphia Bulletin 1978 Stanley Moulton and Laurel Sorenson, Daily Hampshire Gazette 1979 Staff of 10 writers, Charlotte Observer 1980 Rena W. Cohen, The Daily and Sunday Herald (Arlington Hts., Ill.) 1981 Mary Bishop, Thomas Ferrick, Jr. and Donald Kimelman, Philadelphia Inquirer 1982 Fred Anklam and Nancy Weaver, Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.) 1983 Robert Frahm, Journal Times (Racine, Wisc.) 1984 Cindy Goodaker, The Oakland Press (Pontiac,Mich.) 1985 Janet Groat, Macon (Ga.) Telegraph & Tribune 1986 Ricardo Gandara, Albuquerque Tribune 1987 Emily Sachar, New York Newsday 1988 Team of 14 reporters from The Chicago Tribune 1989 Emily Sachar, New York Newsday 1990 Ann Carnahan, Tony Pugh, The Rocky Mountain News 1991 Theresa Churchill, Ron Ingram and Carol Alexander, Herald & Review (Decatur, Ill.) 1992 Kimberly J. McLarin, The Philadelphia Inquirer 1993 Stephen Henderson, The Lexington Herald-Leader 1994 Neil A. Borowski, Laura Bruch, Thomas Ferrick, Craig McCoy, Dale Mezzacappa, John Woestendiek and Martha Woodall. Philadelphia Inquirer 1995 Dudley Althaus, The Houston Chronicle 1996 Robert Frahm and Rick Green, The Hartford Courant 1997 Jacques Steinberg, New York Times 1998 Deb Kollars, Sacramento Bee 1999 Tim Simmons, Raleigh News and Observer 2000 Kenneth Weiss, Los Angeles Times 2001 Patrick Healy, The Boston Globe 2002 Eric Eyre and Scott Finn, Charleston Gazette 2003 Christine Willmsen, Maureen O’Hagan, Seattle Times 2004 Joshua Benton, Holly Hacker and Herb Booth, Dallas Morning News 2005 Linda Lutton, Kati Phillips and Jonathan Lipman, Daily Southtown 2006 Jean Rimbach and Kathleen Carroll, The Bergen Record 2007 Martha Irvine and Robert Tanner, The Associated Press 2008 Blake Morrison and Brad Heath, USA Today

16 2009 National Awards for Education Reporting

FIRST PRIZE WINNERS

Small Media—Breaking or Hard News Phyllis Coulter The Pantagraph “Tackling Bus Challenges”

Small Media—Feature, News Feature or Issue Package Chelsi Moy and Kurt Wilson Missoulian “Recruiting on the Rez: UM Appeals Directly to American Indian Students”

Small Media—Series or Group of Articles Beth McMurtrie, Mara Hvistendahl, David McNeill, Jeffrey Brainard and Karin Fischer The Chronicle of Higher Education “Asia Rising/America Falling”

Small Media—Investigative Reporting Ryan Gabrielson and Michelle Reese East Valley Tribune “Rigged Privilege”

Small Media—Opinion Patricia Calhoun Westword “School Daze”

Large Media—Feature, News Feature or Issue Package Daniel de Vise and Michael Alison Chandler Washington Post “Poor Neighborhoods, Untested Teachers”

Large Media—Series or Group of Articles Bob Hohler Boston Globe “Failing Our Athletes: The Sad State of Sports in Boston Public Schools”

Large Media—Investigative Reporting Blake Morrison, Peter Eisler, Anthony DeBarros and Elizabeth Weise USA Today “Trouble on the Tray”

Large Media—Opinion Susan A. Nielsen Oregonian “Oregon Schools”

17 Multimedia Christopher Powers, Mary Ann Zehr, Chienyi Hung, Mark W. Bomster and Charlie Borst Education Week “Quality Counts 2009: Portrait of a Population, Student Profiles”

Blogs Elizabeth Green, Philissa Cramer, Maura Walz and Anna Phillips Gotham Schools.org “Gotham Schools”

Small Media—Beat Reporting Scott Jaschik, Doug Lederman and Stephanie Lee Inside Higher Ed “Evaluating the Rankings”

Large Media — Beat Reporting Libby Quaid Associated Press “First Years in Office”

Magazines Drew Lindsay The Washingtonian “Success Factory”

Special Interest, Institutional and Trade Publications Sarah Karp, John Myers, Linda Lenz, Veronica Anderson and Lorraine Forte Catalyst Chicago “Reaching Black Boys”

Television—Hard News and Investigative Keli Rabon and Jim O’Donnell WREG “Failure to Report”

Television— Documentary and Feature John Merrow, David Wald, Jane Renaud, Cat McGrath, Valerie Visconti and Tania McKeown Learning Matters “Leadership: A Challenging Course”

Radio or Podcasts Deborah Becker and Monica Brady Myerov WBUR “Project Dropouts”

SECOND PRIZE WINNERS

Small Media—Breaking or Hard News Rena Havner Philips Press- Register “Systems Get Report Cards”

18 Small Media—Feature, News Feature or Issue Package Kaustuv Basu Florida Today “Boldly, Scholar Aims to Change Homeland”

Small Media—Series or Group of Articles Amanda Paulson and Stacy Teicher Khadaroo Christian Science Monitor “What Makes a Teacher Good”

Small Media—Opinion Julie Mack Kalamazoo Gazette “MEA Cooks Health-Care Numbers to Boiling Point”

Large Media—Feature, News Feature or Issue Package Jill Tucker and Nanette Asimov San Francisco Chronicle “Eyes on the Prize”

Large Media—Series or Group of Articles (tie) Kathleen McGrory Miami Herald “School on the Brink”

Sarah Carr Times-Picayune “The Challenge of Choice”

Large Media—Investigative Reporting (tie) Jodi Cohen, Stacy St. Clair and Tara Malone Chicago Tribune “Clout Goes to College”

Jason Song, Jason Felch, Jessica Garrison, Julie Marquis and Beth Shuster Los Angeles Times “Failure Gets a Pass”

Large Media—Opinion Kate N. Grossman Chicago Sun-Times “A Powerful Voice for Better Schools”

Multimedia Deborah Becker and Monica Brady Myerov WBUR “Project Dropouts”

Blogs Betsy Hammond, Kimberly Melton, Wendy Owen, Bill Graves and Melissa Navas Oregonian “Chalk It Up”

19 Small Media—Beat Reporting Scott Stephens Catalyst Ohio “Stephens Education Reporting”

Large Media—Beat Reporting (tie) Katherine Leal Unmuth Dallas Morning News “Katherine Unmuth Beat Reporting”

Justin Pope Associated Press “The National Higher Education Beat: Policy and People”

Magazines (tie) Anya Kamenetz Fast Company “Who Needs Harvard?”

Camille Esch Washington Monthly “Higher Ed’s Bermuda Triangle”

Television—Hard News and Investigative Kathleen Johnston CNN “CNN Newsroom: Foreign Exchange Students”

Television—Documentary and Feature Mark Fainaru-Wada, Vince Doria, Craig T. Lazarus, Dwayne Bray, Tim Hays and Nicole Noren ESPN “ESPN’s Outside the Lines: Physical Education and Childhood Obesity”

Radio or Podcasts Beth Fertig WNYC Radio “Adding it Up”

SPECIAL CITATIONS

Small Media—Feature, News Feature or Issue Package Beth Slovic Willamette Week “Cheerless”

Helen Zelon and Karen Loew City Limits “The Education Business: Teachers Missing at the Top”

Small Media—Series or Group of Articles Mary Wiltenburg Christian Science Monitor “Little Bill Clinton: A School Year in the Life of a New American”

20 Large Media—Feature, News Feature or Issue Package (tie) Tom Marshall St. Petersburg Times “Doctors in Exile”

Bill Turque Washington Post “Two Years of Hard Lessons for D.C. Schools”

Large Media—Series or Group of Articles Eleanor Chute, Bill Schackner and Joe Smydo Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Do the Math”

Large Media—Opinion Linda Fandel Des Moines Register “World-class Schools for Iowa? (Year Two)”

Charles McGrath New York Times “Book Reviews”

Multimedia Robin Wilson, Audrey Williams June, Jeffrey Brainard and Brock Read The Chronicle of Higher Education “Special Report: Adjuncts”

Blogs Ashley Merryman and Po Bronson Newsweek.com “NurtureShock”

Small Media—Beat Reporting Emily Alpert Voice of San Diego.org “A Year in San Diego Schools”

Large Media-—Beat Reporting Bill Schackner Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Bill Schackner’s Beat Portfolio”

Jennifer Medina New York Times “Covering New York City Schools”

Special Interest, Institutional and Trade Publications Lucy Hood Harvard Education Letter “Platooning”

21 David McKay Wilson Harvard Education Letter “The Invisible Hand in Education Policy”

Karin Chenoweth American Educator “Piece by Piece: How Schools Solved the Achievement Puzzle and Soared”

Television—Documentary and Feature John Larson and Karen Foshay KCET/SoCal Connected “Is Anybody Listening?”

Radio or Podcasts Jes Burns, Angela Kellner, Rachael McDonald, Tiffany Eckert, Mike Van Meter, John Frohnmayer and Tripp Sommer KLCC “Special Issues: Education”

Amy Scott, Sharona Coutts, Tom Detzel and Paddy Hirsch Marketplace and ProPublica “Allegations of Enrollment Abuses at University of Phoenix”

Judges 2009 National Awards for Education Reporting Adrianne Flynn, Chief Judge, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland Frank Quine University of Maryland Patrick Boyle Youth Today Eric Kelderman Chronicle of Higher Education Tamara Henry University of Maryland Susan Kopen WBAL Deb Nelson University of Maryland Howard Libit Center Maryland Ylan Mui Washington Post Molly Rath Baltimore Public Schools Sandy Banisky University of Maryland

22

EWA Presidents

1947-48 Benjamin Fine, New York Times 1948-49 Harrison Fry, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin 1950-51 Herman Allen 1951-52 Jim Sunshine 1952-53 Millicent Taylor, Christian Science Monitor 1953-54 Noel Wical, Cleveland Press 1954-55 Leonard Buder, New York Times 1956-57 Fred Hechinger, New York Herald Tribune 1957-58 Leonard Buder, New York Times 1959-60 Peter Janssen 1964-65 G.K. Hodenfield, Associated Press 1965-66 Terry Ferrar, New York Herald Tribune 1966-67 Mike Salsinger, Detroit News 1968-69 Marty Buskin, Newsday 1970-71 Cynthia Parsons, Christian Science Monitor 1972-73 Pat Doyle, Kansas City Star 1974-76 Jack Kennedy, Wichita Eagle 1977-78 Bette Orsini, St. Petersburg Times 1979-80 William Grant, Detroit Free Press 1981-82 David Bednarek, Milwaukee Journal 1983-84 Anne Lewis, Education USA 1985-86 Mike Bowler, Baltimore Sun 1987-88 Jim Killackey, Daily Oklahoman 1989-90 Marilyn A. Posner, Observer-Reporter 1991-92 Larry J. Hayes, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette 1993-94 Aleta Watson, San Jose Mercury News 1995-96 Robert Frahm, Hartford Courant 1997-98 Bill Graves, Oregonian 1999-2001Kit Lively, Chronicle of Higher Education 2002-03 Robin Farmer, Richmond Times Dispatch 2004-05 Mary Jane Smetanka, Star Tribune 2006-07 Linda Lenz, Catalyst 2008-09 Richard Whitmire, USA Today 2010-2011 Dale Mezzacappa, Philadelphia Public School Notebook

2009-10 EWA Board of Directors and Staff President: Dale Mezzacappa, Philadelphia Public School Notebook Vice President/Active (Acting): Stephanie Banchero, Wall Street Journal Vice President/Associate: Marie Groark, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Secretary (Acting): Scott Elliott, Dayton Daily News Immediate Past President: Richard Whitmire, Freelance

Directors: John Merrow, The Merrow Report Cornelia Grumman, First Five Years Fund Rodney Ferguson, Lipman Hearne Elizabeth Green, GothamSchools.org Kent Fischer, GMMB Associates Linda Lenz, Catalyst Chicago and Catalyst Cleveland Kathy Baron, Edutopia

Executive Director: Lisa Walker Assistant Director: Lori Crouch Seminars Coordinator: Raven Hill Administrative Coordinator: Tracee Eason Publications Coordinator: Mesha Williams Public Editor: Linda Perlstein 23

Speaker Biographies

John D. Abraham is director of the American Federation of Teachers AFT Member Benefits Department, which provides insurance and discount programs to AFT members across the country. Before that, Abraham served as deputy director of research for 10 years working with local, state and national leaders on healthcare and pension issues. He continues to assist AFT leaders in healthcare bargaining and pension issues. He is the author of several articles and papers. He has an MBA from Loyola of Chicago and a Certified Employee Benefit Specialist designation from the International Foundation on Employee Benefits. He has taught courses on health insurance, economics and finance at George Washington and Catholic Universities in Washington, D.C. Mr. Abraham is a member of the International Foundation’s Public Employees Board. Contact him at (202) 393- 8644; [email protected].

Charles Barone joined Democrats for Education Reform in 2009. Before that he spent five years working as an independent consultant on education policy issues. His clients included the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights, Education Trust and the National Academies of Sciences. In 2007, Barone wrote the DFER briefing “Keeping Achievement Relevant: The Reauthorization of ’No Child Left Behind.’" Barone also served as Democratic Deputy Staff Director for the House Education and Labor Committee under Congressman George Miller (D- CA) for two years. And as Miller’s legislative director. Barone first came to Capitol Hill as a Congressional Fellow in 1993 and subsequently became chief education adviser to the late Senator Paul Simon (D-IL). Contact him at (202) 674-3020; [email protected].

Steve Barr is the CEO of the Green Dot Public Schools, which he founded in 1999 with the goal of transforming secondary education in California with a number of high-performing charter high schools. Green Dot built one of the first comprehensive public high schools in the Los Angeles area in 30 years in 2000 and built a second high school in 2002. The company has now grown to 10 schools. The schools show a 90 percent graduation rate and a two-thirds college acceptance rate. Prior to Green Dot, Barr held a number of leadership positions in political and social service organizations. Barr is a State Board of Education appointee to the Advisery Commission on Charter Schools, where he provides policy recommendations on charter school-related issues. Barr hosted President Clinton’s National Service Inaugural event, which led to the creation of Americorps. Contact him at (213) 621-0276; [email protected].

Henry Braun has held the Boisi Chair in Education and Public Policy in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College since 2007. From 1979 to 2006 he worked at Educational Testing Service, where he served as vice-president for research management and now has the title of distinguished presidential appointee (retired). He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from McGill University and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in mathematical statistics from Stanford University. He has served on a number of national and international committees. Braun has a longstanding involvement in technical analyses of policy issues, especially those involving testing and accountability. He has done considerable work in the area of value-added modeling and authored Using Student Progress to Evaluate Teachers: A Primer on Value-Added Models. He was a major contributor the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development monograph Measuring Improvements in Learning Outcomes: Best Practices to Assess the Value-added of Schools and chair of the National Research Council panel that recently issued the publication Getting value out of value-added: Report of a workshop. Contact him at (617) 552 4638; [email protected].

Stuart Buck is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arkansas and the author of a forthcoming book, Acting White: An Ironic Effect of Desegregation. Buck clerked for Judge David Nelson of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Stephen F. Williams of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He received a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School in 2000, where he was an editor of Harvard Law Review and has authored numerous scholarly articles. Contact him at (479) 575-4439; (479) 927-3315; [email protected].

Karen Cardenas graduated as valedictorian of MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas in 2009. Today she is enrolled at the University of Texas at Arlington seeking a degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting. She moved to Texas from Colombia 10 years ago. One of her favorite activities is playing the violin.

24 James Catanzaro is president of Chattanooga State, a community college in the Tennessee Board of Regents System. He holds a Ph.D. degree from Claremont Graduate University and studied leadership at the University of Texas at Austin and the Wharton School of Business. Through his leadership, Chattanooga State has become the principal trainer for Volkswagen’s new North American plant in Tennessee and the primary provider of training for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Catanzaro is the author of Ascend: Releasing the Power of the Human Spirit and hosts a weekly television interview program on PBS affiliates. He has served on the board of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and chairs the Higher Education Research and Development Institute. Contact him at (423) 697-4404; [email protected].

Mitchell Chester began his tenure as Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education in May 2008. From 2001 through 2008 he worked for the Ohio Department of Education, where he was the second ranking educator. Chester served as the executive director for accountability and assessment for the Philadelphia School District from 1997 through 2001. Prior to working in Philadelphia, he was chief of the bureau of curriculum and instructional programs of the Connecticut State Department of Education. Chester was a teacher, assistant principal and curriculum coordinator in three school districts. He holds a doctorate in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Contact him at (781) 338-3100; [email protected].

Matt Chingos is a Ph.D. student at Harvard University. He graduated from Harvard College with a BA in government and economics in 2005. Chingos’s primary research interests are education policy and the economics of education. He conducts empirical research on elementary and secondary education as a research fellow at the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard and on higher education as a research associate and project manager at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in New York. Most recently, Chingos is a co-author (with William G. Bowen and Michael S. McPherson) of Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities. Contact him at [email protected].

Justin C. Cohen is president of The School Turnaround Group at the Mass Insight Education & Research institute. Justin was recruited to lead the School Turnaround Group in launching a multiyear “Partnership Zone Initiative” to prove the strategy outlined in Mass Insight’s groundbreaking 2007 report, The Turnaround Challenge. Prior to joining Mass Insight, Cohen was director of the office of portfolio management and senior adviser to Chancellor Michelle Rhee at the District of Columbia Public Schools. Before that Cohen was director of industry support and development for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and spent time at Edison Schools. Justin has served on the board of TopHonors Inc., the Yale Alumni Fund and the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School. He has a B.A. in cognitive neuroscience from Yale. Contact him at (617) 778-1500; [email protected].

Michael Cohen is a nationally recognized leader in education policy and standards based reform. He has been the President of Achieve since 2003. Under Cohen’s leadership Achieve formed the American Diploma Project Network, a growing network of states committed to improving preparation for postsecondary education and 21st century careers. Cohen held several senior education positions in the Clinton Administration, including assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education and special assistant to the President for education policy at the White House. Earlier in his career, Cohen held key positions in several national organizations, including as director of education policy for the National Governors Association and director of policy development and planning for the National Association of State Boards of Education. Cohen began his career at the National Institute of Education, where he led the Effective Schools research. Contact him at (202) 419-1540; [email protected].

Richard Lee Colvin is the director of the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media at Teachers College, Columbia University, which provides professional development opportunities for journalists who cover education. Previously, he wrote about national education issues for the Los Angeles Times. He comments on coverage of early education issues at www.earlyedcoverage.org and has written for Carnegie Reporter, Chronicle of Higher Education, Education Next, Education Week, Los Angeles Times Magazine, The School Administrator, State Legislator and the Washington Post. Contact him at (212) 870-1072; [email protected].

25 Beth Fertig is WNYC’s education reporter and also covers city affairs. She’s been with the station since 1995 and covered City Hall during the Giuliani administration and the U.S. Senate campaign of Hillary Clinton. As the station’s news department grew Fertig was able to spend more time examining the city’s public schools and the reforms of the Bloomberg administration. She is a New York City native who discovered her love for journalism at the University of Michigan student newspaper. She also has a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. She’s won many local and national awards, including the prestigious Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award for Broadcast Journalism and an Edward R. Murrow Award. In 2008, Fertig took time off from WNYC to write her first book, called Why cant u teach me 2 read? Three Students and a Mayor Put Our Schools to the Test. The book grew out of a 2006 WNYC radio series on the low graduation rate for special education students. Contact her at (646) 829-4463; [email protected].

Louis Freedberg is the director of California Watch, a new nonprofit project of the Center for Investigative Reporting. As the executive director of the California Media Collaborative, he sought to devise new strategies to cover key California issues in depth and joined forces with CIR in May 2009. Freedberg worked at the San Francisco Chronicle as columnist and member of its editorial board, Washington correspondent during the presidency of Bill Clinton and higher education reporter. He was a senior editor at Pacific News Service, now New America Media, where he established and directed Pacific Youth Press. He was the founder and director of Youth News in Oakland, Calif., which trained high school students as radio news reporters. Contact him at (510)809-3168; [email protected].

Bruce Fuller is professor of education and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley and codirector of Policy Analysis for California Education, an independent research center based at Berkeley and Stanford University. His current research delves into how young children are socialized in Mexican-American homes. A former sociologist at the World Bank, he earlier served as an education adviser to the California legislature and a California governor. His current research focuses on how government attempts to aid children, families and schools through centralized or community-based institutions. He is author of Standardized Childhood: The Political and Cultural Struggle over Early Education and Inside Charter Schools. Contact him at (510) 642-9163 [email protected].

Ryan Gabrielson is an investigative reporting fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, his reporting for the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Ariz. exposed immigration enforcement by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office undermined criminal investigations and emergency response, scholarship charities were committing tax fraud and widespread academic and financial malfeasance at the nation’s largest community college district. Gabrielson’s work has received numerous national and state honors, including a Pulitzer Prize, a George Polk Award and a Sigma Delta Chi Award. Contact him at (480) 223-3283; [email protected].

James Paul Gee is professor of literacy studies at Arizona State University. His book, Sociolinguistics and Literacies, was one of the founding documents in the formation of the “New Literacy Studies,” an interdisciplinary field devoted to studying language, learning and literacy in an integrated way. His most recent books deal with video games, language and learning. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy argues that good video games are designed to enhance learning. He is currently leading a MacArthur-supported effort to engage leading thinkers to re-imagine assessment in the 21st century and is a member of the National Academy of Education. Contact him at (480) 965-3306; [email protected].

Alan Gottlieb is the vice president for policy and business engagement of the Public Education and Business Coalition and editor of Education News Colorado. Gottlieb spent 15 years as a newspaper journalist including a stint at the Denver Post where he covered the Denver Public Schools before moving into the world of education policy. For 10 years, Gottlieb served as education program officer at The Piton Foundation in Denver. He founded and edited The Term Paper, a Piton publication focused on education issues. A native of Chicago, Gottlieb has a bachelor’s from The Colorado College and a master’s from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Contact him at (303) 861-8661; [email protected].

26 David Greising is general manager/deputy editor of the Chicago News Cooperative. He came to the cooperative from the Chicago Tribune, where he was chief business correspondent for five years and wrote an award winning business column for the newspaper. In broadcast journalism, Greising is a contributor to Chicago Public Radio’s morning news magazine program and appears frequently on WTTW, Chicago’s Public Broadcasting Service affiliate. He continues his business focus at the CNC. Before joining the Tribune, Griesling served as Atlanta bureau chief for Business Week and, as a reporter in the magazine’s Chicago bureau and as a business reporter and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. His first job in journalism was at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He is the author of two business books: I’d Like the World to Buy a Coke: The Life and Leadership of Roberto Goizueta and Brokers, Bagmen & Moles: Fraud and Corruption in the Chicago Futures Markets, co-authored by Laurie Morse. With his wife, Cynthia Hedges Greising, he is the author of the children’s book Toys Everywhere! Contact him at (888) 769-6837; [email protected].

Davis Guggenheim was the director and executive producer of the Academy Award winning documentary feature “An Inconvenient Truth” with former Vice President Al Gore. He was producer and director of the Emmy Award winning HBO series “Deadwood.” His television directing credits include the pilot of the CBS show “The Unit” as well as episodes of “Numbers,” “The Shield,” and such critically acclaimed programs as “NYPD Blue, and “Party of Five." He was an executive producer of “Training Day” and director of the film “Gossip.” He directed and produced the feature film “Gracie,” which came out in June 2007. In 1999, Guggenheim undertook an ambitious project documenting the challenging first year of several novice public school teachers. The result of this intensive immersion into Los Angeles’s public school system is two documentary films: “The First Year” and “Teach.” Both films were made to address the tremendous need for qualified teachers in California and nationwide to create awareness of the crisis as well as inspire the next generation to become teachers. You can reach him through Electric Kinney Films in Santa Monica, Calif., (310) 460-7020.

Nancy Guzman is recognized as a leader in turning low-performing Title I schools into high-performing schools that earn state and national recognition. Under her leadership Title I schools have received the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence from the U.S. Department of Education, Palmetto’s Finest Elementary School Award and Redbook Magazine’s “Best 100 Elementary Schools” award. Three years ago Pinewood Elementary, a Title I school in Charlotte, earned the distinction as the most effective school of 174 schools in the area. In her 37-year career, 31 of them as a principal in three Title I schools, Guzman has been honored as the South Carolina PTA Outstanding Principal, National Distinguished Principal for North Carolina and National Distinguished Principal for South Carolina and Wachovia Bank Outstanding Principal. She loves working in high-poverty, low- achieving schools. Contact her at (980)343-3636; [email protected]

Edward Haertel is the Jacks Family Professor of Education at Stanford University. His research and teaching focus on psychometrics and educational policy, especially test-based accountability and related policy uses of test data. Haertel has served as president of the National Council on Measurement in Education, chairs the Technical Advisery Committee concerned with California’s school accountability system, chairs the National Research Council’s Board on Testing and Assessment and from 2000 to 2003 chaired the Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology of the National Assessment Governing Board. He has served on numerous state and national advisery committees related to educational testing, assessment and evaluation. Haertel has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association. He is a member and currently the vice president for programs of the National Academy of Education. Contact him at (650) 725-1251; [email protected].

Kira Hamann is an early childhood educator teaching in a Chicago Public School. She recently completed a Master's in early childhood education at the Erikson Institute, while conducting research on teachers’ attitudes of self-efficacy in dealing with behavior management issues. She is a certified positive discipline parent and teacher educator and leads professional development for current and pre-service teachers -- as well as parents -- in the areas of children’s social-emotional development and behavior management. She has collaborated with the First Five Years Fund to create quality in early childhood classroom training videos that are now being used across the nation. Contact her at [email protected].

27 Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president in the division of government and public affairs at the American Council on Education, has directed ACE’s effort to engage federal policy makers on a broad range of issues including student aid, scientific research, government regulation and tax policy for more than a decade. Hartle is widely considered American higher education’s most visible lobbyist. He also oversees Higher Education for Development. Prior to joining the council in 1993, Hartle served for six years as education staff director for the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, then chaired by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Prior to 1987, Hartle was director of social policy studies and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a research scientist at the Educational Testing Service. Hartle received a doctorate from The George Washington University, a master’s in public administration from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from Hiram College. Contact him at (202) 939-9355.

Arthur M. Hauptman has been an independent public policy consultant since 1981. He is an internationally recognized expert in higher education finance and has written and spoken extensively on issues of student financial aid, college costs, tuition fees and resource allocation. He has consulted on higher education finance issues with more than two dozen countries, as well as a number of federal government agencies, state agencies and higher education institutions and associations in the United States. He received an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College and a MBA from Stanford University. Contact him at (703) 527-0075; [email protected].

Frederick M. Hess, American Enterprise Institute’s director of education policy studies, is an educator, political scientist and author. At AEI, Hess studies a range of K-12 and higher education issues. He is author of the Education Week blog “Rick Hess Straight Up” and of influential books including Education Unbound, Common Sense School Reform, Revolution at the Margins and Spinning Wheels. He serves as executive editor of Education Next, on the review board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education and on the boards of directors for the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and the American Board for the Certification of Teaching Excellence. A former high school social studies teacher who has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Rice University and Harvard University, he holds his M.Ed. in teaching and curriculum and his master’s and doctorate from Harvard University. Contact him at (202) 828-6030; [email protected]

Laura Horn is the director of postsecondary education and transition to college at MPR Associates, Inc., a Berkeley consulting firm that conducts innovative research and develops practical tools to inform education policy and practice. She has been conducting research on issues related to college access and success for more than 15 years, primarily for the National Center for Education Statistics. She is the author of numerous reports published by NCES on these topics and has been involved in the design and analysis of the various cross- sectional and longitudinal postsecondary sample surveys conducted by NCES. Contact her at (510) 849-4942; [email protected].

David Hunn is a general assignment education reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He writes about Catholic, private and charter schools, state testing and public school corruption. Hunn came to the Post-Dispatch in 2005 from the Bakersfield Californian, where he covered the city school district. Before that, he taught seventh- grade English in Los Angeles. Hunn won an honorable mention in the category of breaking or hard news for large newspapers in the 2008 Education Writers Association national reporting awards. Contact him at (314) 349- 8411; [email protected].

Scott Jaschik is the editor and one of three founders of Inside Higher Ed. He co-leads the editorial operations, overseeing news content, opinion pieces, resources and interactive features. Jaschik has published articles on colleges in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, Salon and elsewhere. From 1999 to 2003, Jaschik was editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, leading the news operations for its weekly newspaper and daily website during a period in which the publication received four nominations for National Magazine Awards and he won first prize in beat reporting small media or market in the 2008 Education Writers Association national reporting awards. He graduated from Cornell University. Contact him at (202) 659-9208; [email protected].

28 Jack Jennings, president and CEO of the Center on Education Policy, which he founded in January 1995. From 1967 to 1994, he served as subcommittee staff director and then as general counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Labor. In these positions, he was involved in nearly every major education debate held at the national level, including the reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Vocational Education Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Higher Education Act and the authorization of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. He holds a bachelor’s from Loyola University and a J.D. from Northwestern University. Contact him at (202) 822-8065; [email protected].

Cassius Johnson is the program director for education policy for the Jobs for the Future Workforce & Education Policy Group. Johnson directs Jobs for the Future’s federal secondary and postsecondary policy development and advocacy. His work advances efforts to improve educational options and outcomes for the large and growing numbers of low-income youth and adults struggling in today’s economy. Prior to joining JFF, Johnson was chief of staff for a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Contact him at (617) 728-4446; [email protected].

Josh Keller has covered California and the West Coast for The Chronicle of Higher Education since 2008. Based in San Francisco, he writes regularly about budget issues, diversity, technology and student activism in California’s higher education system, the largest of any state’s. Keller has written in-depth pieces on how California’s budget crisis is damaging the quality of education at the University of California, California State University and the state’s community colleges. As an intern at the Chronicle, in 2007, he contributed to coverage of investigations into the student-loan industry, writing dozens of stories about relationships between lenders and college financial- aid officers. Before joining the Chronicle, he covered immigration, transportation and cattle auctions as an intern at The Anniston Star in Alabama and served as news editor at University of California Berkeley’s student newspaper, the Daily Californian. He received a bachelor’s degree from Berkeley. Contact him at [email protected].

Linda Lenz is the publisher and founder of Catalyst Chicago, a monthly news magazine that chronicles the progress, problems and politics of school reform in that city and the publisher of sister publication Catalyst Cleveland. The Chicago version has won national and local awards, including a national public service award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Before launching the magazine in 1990, Lenz was the education writer for the Chicago Sun-Times and, before that, an editorial writer for the Chicago Daily News. She has written scripts for television documentaries for CBS and WTBS and earned accolades for her editorials in Catalyst and for her reporting and editing. Lenz graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Contact her at (312) 673-3848; [email protected].

Kit Lively is a graduate student in education policy at Vanderbilt University, where she also works with the National Center on School Choice, a research center that studies all types of school choice. Before going to graduate school, she worked for 30 years as a reporter and editor, most recently at The Dallas Morning News, The Charlotte Observer and The Chronicle of Higher Education. She also is a former EWA board member and president. Contact her at [email protected].

Mark S. Luckie is a digital journalist and author of the digital journalism blog 10,000 Words and The Digital Journalist’s Handbook, a guide to the tools necessary to thrive in the digital newsroom. Luckie has produced multimedia and interactive stories for the Center for Investigative Reporting, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times and the Contra Costa Times, and is a former crime and justice reporter for The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Contact him at [email protected] or [email protected].

29 Rick Mattoon is a senior economist and economic adviser in the economic research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Mattoon’s primary research focuses on issues that face the Midwest regional economy. His analysis of electricity restructuring and energy issues, higher education policy, regional economic development and state and local government finance has appeared in numerous publications. Mattoon also serves as a lecturer at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Mattoon began his career at the Chicago Fed in 1990. In 1997, he left the bank to serve as a policy adviser for economic development, energy and telecommunications to the governor of Washington. He later served as director of policy and legislation for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. He returned to the bank in 2001. Mattoon received abachelor’s from Kenyon College and a master’s from the University of Chicago. Contact him at (312) 322-2428; [email protected] Jennifer Medina joined the New York Times in 2004. She wrote about Westchester and the New York State legislature, served as Hartford bureau chief and has covered New York City schools since 2007. As an intern at the Times, Medina wrote a memorable series on how city schools were pushing students out so they would not count as part of the dropout rate. Medina began her journalism career with internships at the Boston Globe, Denver Post, Orange County Register and Reno Gazette Journal. In 2006, she received a Front Page Award from the Newswomen’s Club of New York for her stories on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Medina received a bachelor’s degree in print journalism and political science from University of Southern California. Contact her at [email protected].

Gail O. Mellow is president of LaGuardia Community College in New York City, one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in the United States. LaGuardia is a two-year public college, serving more than 50,000 students from 160 countries. Its students pursue baccalaureate education at more than twice the national average. The school is a leader in using e-portfolios for teaching and assessment. During her eight-year tenure, the college has won numerous awards and achievements. Mellow spearheads local economic development with LaGuardia’s Small Business Development Center and NY Designs, a business incubator for design professionals. Mellow is the co-author of three books and more than 30 articles. Her third book, Minding the Dream: The American Community College, was published in 2008. She received an associate’s from Jamestown Community College, a bachelor’s from SUNY Albany and her master’s and Ph.D. from the George Washington University. Contact her at (718) 482-5050 ;[email protected]. Eva Moskowitz, a Harlem native and mother of three, is founder and chief executive officer of Success Charter Network, which runs four charter schools in Harlem. Moskowitz opened three more charter schools in August 2008 and plans to open 40 over the next decade. A former New York city council member and chair of the council’s Education Committee, Moskowitz held more than 100 oversight hearings. She remains a forceful advocate for education, but has now returned to her roots in teaching to implement all she learned while visiting hundreds of New York City’s 1,300 public and charter schools. After completing her bachelor’s at the University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University, Moskowitz was a history professor and taught civics at Prep for Prep, a program for gifted minority students. Contact her at (646) 747-6202 or through assistant Tori Lo, [email protected].

Alan D. Mutter is a newspaper editor turned high-tech entrepreneur turned strategic consultant to both traditional and new media companies. He writes about the changing media landscape at Reflections of a Newsosaur and teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California Berkeley. Contact him at (415) 519-2495; [email protected].

Jenny Nagaoka is the associate director for postsecondary studies at the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago. Her current work uses linked quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the relationship among high school preparation, college choice and postsecondary outcomes for Chicago Public School students. Her research interests focus on urban education reform, particularly developing school environments and instructional practices that promote college readiness and success. Her previous work includes research on quality of classroom instruction, Chicago’s retention policy and an evaluation of the effects of a summer school program. Contact her at (773) 702-1128; [email protected].

30 George Noell is a professor of psychology at Louisiana State University and is executive director for Strategic Research and Analysis at the Louisiana Department of Education. His research and service has focused on improving all children’s access to a high quality education and effective mental health services for those in need. His early work focused on improving the quality and implementation of treatment plans for children in need of psychological services. Noell developed the Louisiana value-added assessment of teacher preparation, which is the first statewide assessment in the nation to link student achievement to teacher preparation. Noell’s scholarship has been acknowledged by election to scholarly societies, awards, research journal editorial board appointments and an appointment as editor-in-chief. Contact him at (225) 342-4817; [email protected].

Thomas Parrish, is a managing director of the American Institutes for Research. As the director of the Center for Special Education Finance at AIR for the past 15 years, he has assisted the federal government and many states in measuring special education costs and expenditures and in formulating fiscal policy. Parrish is currently working on special education finance projects in Illinois and Alberta, Canada; attempting to conceptualize, measure and examine school and district-level relative efficiency in California, Illinois and Alberta; and is examining education in California in response to the fiscal crisis. Contact him at 650-843-8119; [email protected].

Linda Perlstein is the Education Writers Association’s public editor, a role in which she coaches journalists on approaching education issues from pre-K through college and writes the Educated Reporter blog. Perlstein is a former Washington Post education reporter and the author of Not Much Just Chillin’: The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers and Tested: One American School Struggles to Make the Grade. She has written for the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post op-ed pages, the New York Times, Salon, the Nation, Family Circle, Girls Life, Parents and the Columbia Journalism Review and taught an education writing seminar at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Perlstein received a bachelor’s from Wesleyan University and a master’s in international affairs from Columbia University. Contact her at (202) 265-0280; [email protected].

Mohammad H. Qayoumi assumed the presidency of California State University, East Bay in 2006. He came from Cal State Northridge, where he had served as vice president for administration and finance and Chief Financial Officer and was a tenured professor of engineering management. Also a tenured professor of engineering at Cal State East Bay, Qayoumi holds a bachelor’s from American University of Beirut. He has also earned masters’ degrees in electrical and computer engineering and nuclear engineering, as well as an M.B.A. in finance and a doctorate from the University of Cincinnati. He is a licensed professional engineer and a certified management accountant with more than 30 years of experience in the service of higher education and industry. Qayoumi has published eight books, more than 85 articles and several chapters in various books and has made presentations at numerous conferences across the United States and in 10 other countries on various topics ranging from quality and energy to systems theory. Contact him through Barry Zepel, (510) 885-3884; [email protected].

Margaret E. Raymond is the director of the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, which analyzes education reform efforts around the country. CREDO’s mission is to improve the quantity and quality of evidence about the impacts of education innovations on student achievement in public K-12 education. Raymond has done extensive work in public policy and education reform and is currently researching the effectiveness of charter schools and the capacity of educators and policy makers to use reliable data on program performance. Contact her at (650) 725-3431; [email protected].

Sandip Roy is an editor with New America Media and host of its radio show New America Now on KALW 91.7 FM. He writes for both ethnic and mainstream media including India Abroad, India Currents, the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and The Times of India. He is commentator for Morning Edition on National Public Radio. Contact him at (415) 503-4170; [email protected].

31 Steve Schneider is the program director of WestEd’s Mathematics, Science, & Technology Program and serves as the principal investigator of the $12.2 million National Science Foundation’s Center for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning. Schneider also directs the National Assessment Governing Board’s 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress science framework development project. In 2009, students nationwide engaged in the new NAEP science assessment. In addition, he is the lead evaluator of numerous large- scale evaluation efforts for NSF and the U.S. Department of Education. He has more than 35 years of science, mathematics and technology education experience. Schneider received a B.A. in biology from the University of California Berkeley and a doctorate in the design and evaluation of educational programs with an emphasis in science, mathematics and technology education from Stanford University. In addition, he has a State of California Life Teaching Credential from California State University, San Jose. Contact him at (650) 381-6410; [email protected].

Daniel Schwartz is professor of education at Stanford University and co-director of the Science of Learning Center - Learning in Informal and Formal Environments. He’s taught secondary school in Kenya, inner-city Los Angeles and the Alaskan bush. His research examines student understanding and the ways that technology can facilitate learning. A theme throughout Schwartz’s research is how people’s facility for spatial thinking can influence processes of learning, instruction, assessment and problem solving. Contact him at (650)736-1514; [email protected].

Nirvi Shah has covered public schools for most of the last decade, most recently covering some of the largest school districts in the country for The Miami Herald. She is an award-winning journalist who has covered hurricanes, space shuttle launches and catastrophes and messy South Florida elections. She previously worked at The Palm Beach Post and The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla. She is a graduate of the University of Florida. Contact her at (352) 262-7424; [email protected].

Larisa Shambaugh is an education policy analyst in the San Mateo office of the American Institutes for Research. Shambaugh has extensive knowledge of both district and state level education policy, including school finance and resource distribution policies. She currently oversees several projects that focus on California-specific policies and education finance policies, including a study documenting the state of K-12 education in California under extensive budget cuts. Shambaugh earned her bachelor’ from Tufts University and her master’s from the University of Michigan. (650) 843-8269 ; [email protected].

Andy Smarick is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. From 2008 to 2009 he served as deputy assistant secretary for planning, evaluation and policy development at the U.S. Department of Education where he helped manage the department’s research, budget and policy functions. From 2007 to 2008, Smarick served at the White House in the Domestic Policy Council, working primarily on K-12 and higher education issues. Prior positions include: chief operating officer for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, legislative assistant to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and aide to members of the Maryland state legislature. He is a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute-NewSchools Fellows. Smarick helped found a college preparatory charter school for disadvantaged students in Annapolis and he was a member of Maryland Governor’s Commission on Quality Education. He is a former White House Fellow and earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland. Contact him at (202) 223-5452; [email protected].

Ralph Smith is executive vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Previously, as senior vice president and director of planning and development, he helped design the foundation’s effort to help communities improve outcomes for children by strengthening families and neighborhoods. Before coming to Casey, he served in senior leadership positions for the Philadelphia school district and as senior adviser to the mayor. He is the founding director for the National Center on Fathers and Families and the Philadelphia Children’s Network. A legal scholar and attorney, he was a member of the law faculty at the University of Pennsylvania and authored briefs in landmark cases before the United States Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals. Smith is an active participant in various councils and networks working to improve national and international philanthropy. Contact him through his assistant Jessy Donaldson, [email protected] at 410-949-1949; [email protected].

32 Linda Sullivan-Dudzic, special programs director for Bremerton School District in Bremerton, Wash. She also is an educational consultant and co-author of the book, Making a Difference 10 Essential Steps to Building a PreK-3 System. Sullivan-Dudzic has spent the past 30 years connecting the early childhood community to the K-3 public school system. As a special programs director, she works with a dynamic team to build a strong P-3 educational system and to train other school districts. Her work in higher education is in designing and teaching college level courses to increase the skills and knowledge of teachers working in this field. In addition to her other jobs, Sullivan-Dudzic is co-founder of a faith-based private preschool whose mission is to provide quality education to families who cannot afford preschool. Contact her at (360) 473-1061; [email protected].

Helen Thorpe is a freelance journalist whose magazine stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, New York , George, Westword and 5280. Born in London, she grew up in Medford, N.J. She has worked as a staff writer for the New York Observer; the New Yorker, where she wrote “Talk of the Town” stories; and Texas Monthly. She has also produced radio stories that have aired on This American Life and Soundprint. Thorpe is married to John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Denver. She currently serves on the boards of two non-profit organizations that focus on ensuring the success of all children, particularly those who are growing up in poverty (the Clayton Foundation and the Colorado Children’s Campaign). Just Like Us is her first book. Contact her at [email protected].

Greg Toppo is USA Today’s national K-12 education reporter. A graduate of St. John’s College in Sante Fe, N.M., he taught in both public and private schools for eight years before moving into journalism. His first job was with the Sante Fe New Mexican. He worked for four years as a wire service reporter with the Associated Press, first in Baltimore and then in Washington, D.C., where he became the AP’S national K-12 education writer. Toppo came to USA Today in 2002. Contact him at (703) 854-3467; [email protected].

Lisa Vahey, a former award-winning Chicago Public Schools classroom teacher and literacy coach, founded an induction program at the University of Chicago and opened the New Teacher Center’s Chicago office, growing program, staff and funding to support more than 1,000 new teachers across Chicago. She also worked with state and district leaders on induction policy, including the introduction of statewide program standards. She is now working on federal early learning policy with the First Five Years Fund and has led countless classroom visits to help a broad range of stakeholders see teaching and learning “in action.” Contact her at (312)453-1844; [email protected].

Thomas Van Essen is the executive director of the Center for External Research in the Research & Development Division at ETS. Prior to this appointment, Van Essen served as the senior assessment director for language skills assessment in the Assessment Development Division, where he was responsible for all the test development work in language skills done for the SAT, the GRE General Test and a number of other testing programs. He has also served as executive director of the SAT program in ETS’s School and College Services Division. His primary areas of expertise are large-scale testing programs, test design, college admissions tests, tests of verbal reasoning, test development practices and procedures, and diagnostic testing. He frequently conducts workshops and gives presentations about the SAT. Van Essen has given presentations at the National Council on Measurement in Education’s national meeting and to other professional organizations both nationally and internationally. He has taught at the college level and has been working at ETS since 1988. He earned his Ph.D. in English Literature from Rutgers University. Contact him at (609) 734-1858; [email protected].

Dennis Van Roekel, a 23-year teaching veteran and longtime activist and advocate for children and public education, is president of the 3.2 million-member National Education Association. The high school math teacher from Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, Ariz., served two terms as NEA vice president among other positions in NEA. Van Roekel grew up in Iowa, where parents, teachers and the community instilled in him a deep sense of the value of education and the understanding that education opens countless doors of opportunity. His future career path was sealed in the seventh grade when he decided to become a teacher. And for more than two decades he was able to live his dream: standing in front of high school students teaching math. Van Roekel earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and a master’s degree in math education from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Contact him at (202) 833-4000.

33 Terry Vendlinski is a senior researcher at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing. During the last five years, his research has concentrated on using computer technology to improve the accuracy of formative assessments of student understanding. Vendlinski’s experience includes more than 15 years of teaching courses ranging from Java programming to teaching chemistry, math and computer programming in high school and teaching eighth-grade algebra. He has written papers on teaching math and science. Recently, Vendlinski has begun developing professional development sessions to help middle school math teachers use formative test results to teach math concepts in introductory algebra. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He did his graduate studies in education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was a distinguished graduate of the MBA program at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. Vendlinski received his BS degree from the United States Air Force Academy. Contact him at [email protected].

Ben Wildavsky is a senior fellow in research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation and a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution. Previously, he was education editor of US News & World Report, economic policy correspondent for the National Journal, higher education reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and executive editor of the Public Interest. Contact him at (202) 741-6596; [email protected].

Marci Young is the project director for Pre-K Now, leading its campaign to advance high-quality, voluntary pre- kindergarten for all three- and four-year-olds. Prior to joining Pre-K Now, Young was the director of the Center for the Child Care Workforce, a project of the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation, and a deputy director in the AFT’s educational issues department, where she oversaw all of the organization’s early childhood projects and activities. She was the executive director of CCW when it was an independent nonprofit agency, where she coauthored several studies about early childhood education. Before that, she was a kindergarten teacher at an elementary school in Montgomery County, Md. Young holds a bachelor’s from Stanford University and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Contact her at (202)540-6416; [email protected].

Connie Yowell oversees a $65 million program on digital media and learning as director of education at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The program is one of the first philanthropic efforts to systematically explore the impact of digital media on young people and implications for the future of learning. Prior to joining the Foundation, Yowell was an associate professor at the University of Illinois, examining the interplay among young people’s emerging identity, their social context and achievement, especially adolescent psychological development and the problem of high school dropout among immigrant students in the United States. She recently received the Distinguished Fellows Award from the William T. Grant Foundation, recognizing scholars seeking to bridge research and practice, and is working with the National Writing Project to integrate Web 2.0 technologies into the practices of teachers. Contact her at (312) 726-8000 or [email protected].

Matthew Waite is a founding partner of Hot Type Consulting LLC, a web development company and the developer of the EdMoney.org site. He is also the senior news technologist at the St. Petersburg Times and the developer of the Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact.com. Before moving into web development, he was an investigative reporter for the Times, specializing in database journalism. He won numerous state and national awards for reporting, particularly on issues with Florida's wetlands. He is the coauthor of Paving Paradise: Florida's Vanishing Wetlands and the Failure of No Net Loss. Contact him at [email protected].

Joan Walsh is editor in chief at Salon.com, the award-winning website. As a columnist for San Francisco Magazine she won a 2004 Western Magazine Award for her writing about local politics. Before starting at Salon, she worked for many years as a consultant to national and regional foundations, including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and California's James Irvine Foundation. She is on the advisory board of the University of Maryland’s Journalism Fellowships in Child and Family Policy and a member of the board of directors of PolicyLink, an Oakland-based research and advocacy group. Contact her at [email protected].

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