Stephanie Simon of Reuters has written one blockbuster story after another. She has done the digging and investigation that make her stories genuinely valuable. In education, as more newspapers cut back their in-depth education reporting, this kind of investigative journalism is becoming increasingly rare.
She wrote stunning articles about the privatization momentum in Louisiana, about TFA, about profiteers jumping into education, about the parent trigger, and about testing in kindergarten.
She is truly fair and balanced, never taking sides, but clearly explaining the issues in context, with attention to their consequences.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thank you, Ms. Ravtich, for leading me to Ms. Simon’s reporting.
Reuter’s seems to have it all over most of the U.S. mass media when it comes to reporting on education. Here’s Felix Salmon’s well-thought-out response to Amanda Ripley’s article in Atlantic, “Why Kids Should Grade Teachers”:
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2012/09/23/what-education-reformers-did-with-student-surveys/
If only policy makers thought like Mr. Salmon:
“The trick to improving education is to make schools better, not to find ever-more-cunning ways to reward and punish teachers. Especially when there’s no evidence whatsoever that such reward-and-punishment schemes actually make those teachers better educators, rather than simply resentful. There’s a reason why certain schools develop a reputation for excellence which can last for centuries: there’s something institutional going on, a virtuous circle which lifts up everybody. Making education granular — isolating not only certain teachers but even certain aspects of how those teachers teach — is a classic example of missing the forest for the trees, for no good reason.”
By the way, here’s the link to the Atlantic article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/10/why-kids-should-grade-teachers/309088/
That last link doesn’t seem to go anywhere.
Dienne is correct. I can’t get to the “testing in kindergarten” article either.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/25/us-usa-education-testing-idUSBRE88O05Y20120925
Link fixed. Try again.
Diane
Fixed that link. Try again.
Diane
Now they made grandmas mad 🙂 oooops
http://www.wacotrib.com/opinion/columns/whitaker/171957111.html
Diane,
Rhee is spending her money, or her fake front in CT called GNESPA, to influence elections here in our state.
Can you help make this into national news?
Michelle “Buy Yourself An Election” Rhee returns to undermine democracy in Connecticut
http://jonathanpelto.com/2012/10/01/michelle-buy-yourself-an-election-rhee-returns-to-undermine-democracy-in-connecticut/
http://theadvocate.com/news/education/4004848-123/evaluator-defends-not-renewing-own
teaching certificate.
Please keep shining the light on the evil at the Louisiana State Department.
Thanks
It would be great to see her take on the cheating scandal in Washington, D.C. that has been so conveniently swept under the rug!