Alexander Russo

Here’s that PBS NewsHour interview with longtime education reporter John Merrow, including highlights from his past reporting such as when he followed a bunch of new teachers through the year and when he filmed Michelle Rhee firing someone.

What Hillary Clinton Told the NEA Board of Directors PK12: Earlier this month, the National Education Association voted to endorse Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary for president. But what went into that decision beforehand? Authorities probing ex-Chicago schools CEO’s Detroit tenure AP:Authorities are investigating Detroit Public Schools contracts awarded by a former official who has pleaded guilty […]

Tonight on the PBS NewsHour John Merrow makes what he’s describing as his final appearance — an interview with cohost Judy Woodruff “to reflect on the last 41 years of covering education.” Merrow and I have had our disagreements, but my overwhelming feeling towards him is one of admiration and respect. He started reporting on […]

It might have been hard to believe two weeks ago, when it was first published in the Chicago Tribune, and even more so now that the former CPS head Barbara Byrd-Bennett has been indicted and admitted being guilty for taking kickbacks, but it’s all the more worth saying that what’s going on downtown and how […]

L.A. school board votes to fire teacher Rafe Esquith, accused of misconduct LA Times: The Los Angeles Board of Education voted this week to fire nationally recognized teacher Rafe Esquith, following a misconduct investigation that included allegations he made an improper joke to students and inappropriately touched minors, according to sources with knowledge of the decision. NYC […]

Washington DC students learning to ride bikes at school, in an image used to accompany a recent NPR education story. The Gates Foundation spends about $7 million a year in grants to education journalism organizations, and has done so for the past five years or so, according to an interview with deputy director for global […]

Ex-Chicago schools chief pleads guilty in federal corruption scandal WBEZ: “I am terribly sorry,” Barbara Byrd-Bennett said after her arraignment at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. “They deserved much more. Much more than I gave to them.” See also WSJ, District Dossier, AP, NYT. State clarifies PARCC scoring standards; description of lowered cutoff said to be error Arkansas Online: In a statement, state […]

@SSKedreporter @PoliticalEditor Sarah Karp fights for my child. Mike Flannery did a great story on Sarah. http://t.co/6naYVo1Eg1 — k b (@kbandele1) October 13, 2015 By all accounts, it was Catalyst Chicago and one of its star reporters Sarah Karp that first discovered and wrote about the now-infamous no-bid SUPES contract that the Chicago Board of Education gave […]

Remember that CJR piece I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the current state of education journalism? Well, it wasn’t just the clickbait headline (Why education reporters are missing the grade) that some folks found objectionable. Local public radio station KPCC LA — whose piece was the lead example in the CJR piece — felt like […]

How Common Core quietly won the war Politico: Ask most any third-grader: Just as Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the cheerleader in chief for the Cmmon Core and rigorous standards, prepares to step down, the standards that naysayers love to call “Obamacore” have become the reality on the ground for roughly 40 million students — or about four […]