Read Classroom Connections
Liz Bowie (state education)
With two kids in public high schools, education is a subject I live every day.So when a source talks about an ECR, I know that homework assignment last night was an Extended Constructed Response, better known to average people as English essay.
I know that school lunches are "disgusting" because I am the one slapping sandwiches together at 6:30 every morning. (Yes, I know I should make my children to do this the night before.) And if I am writing about changes in the teaching of math, it might be the case that I have heard a teacher or two complain that there is no way she can get through all the math curriculum.
While my experience as a parent has informed my reporting on education for the past decade, I never mix work and home. My children's pet peeves do not become stories.
I have been a reporter at The Sun for the past 20 years or so. I began covering education in 1997, just after a reform of the Baltimore schools began. After many years on that beat, I spent most of a year writing a series about two homeless boys who graduated from Lake Clifton High School. For the past two years I have covered state education issues.
If you are a parent or educator anywhere from Wicomico to Garrett counties, I would love to hear from you. I am not just looking for stories about education policy but also quirky trends of the moment from cell phone use in schools to the obsession with Facebook.
Arin Gencer (Baltimore County schools)
My journalism career began in fifth grade, when I served as editor of the illustrious Nothing But News Newspaper, a short-lived publication that sparked my interest in the news business. Up until then, I'd wanted to write books or teach. In choosing journalism, I think I've found a comfortable middle ground, getting the best of both fields.An important aside: I'm from the great state of Texas, raised mostly in Dallas. (Please, no hate e-mail. I am, at best, only a fair-weather Cowboys fan.) I've been an education reporter at the Sun since October 2006, and am happiest when I'm in a school and talking to students. This is probably because school looks like fun from this side, where I can participate without dreading homework or tests. But I freely admit that I am something of a nerd.... I look forward to what I might find out in a classroom, and delight in books.
That's why I signed up for more learning after getting my degree from Emory University in Atlanta. While working on my masters in New York, I hunted down stories about politics, religion and science. I also enjoyed more beef patties and samosas than I had a right to consume.
I discovered my passion for writing about education while working at the Los Angeles Times, where I had opportunities to report on K-12 and higher education. That interest brought me here. I've had the pleasure of covering Carroll County schools, getting to know students and teachers, and grappling with the complexities of education at the county and state levels.
It's a lot to take in, but this nerd thrives on learning new things.
And she hopes to hear - and learn - from you as the adventure continues.
Sara Neufeld (Baltimore City schools)
I stumbled onto the education beat in 2000, fresh out of Northwestern University's journalism school. I was an intern at the San Jose Mercury News, a suburban schools job was open temporarily, and since it was summer, the editors figured I couldn't mess up too badly.Here I am, 2,800 miles and more than seven years later, still at it. And looking back, I don't know why I hadn't set out to cover education earlier. As a teenager, the high school newspaper was only my second calling. My first was babysitting. In California, I spent two and a half years chasing after corruption and inadequacies in the schools in East Palo Alto, a little city that's a highway overpass and yet and a world away from Palo Alto, home to Stanford and some of the nation's best public schools. But I'm a native of Connecticut, and I promised my family I wouldn't stay on the West Coast forever. In Baltimore, at least my grandma can call without having to feel bad that she forgot the time difference and it's 5 a.m. I started at The Sun in March 2003 and covered Baltimore County schools before moving to city education in July 2005.
Other basics: I've been a vegetarian since age 9, a decision that drove both my parents to become health nuts as they tried to figure out what to feed me. (My little sister once wrote a college essay about how she couldn't wait for the dorm food.) My mom, once an elementary school teacher and later a party planner, decided on her 50th birthday to become a yoga instructor. Following her lead, I recently completed a yoga teacher training program myself.
I'm grateful to my yoga practice for keeping me sane amid the commotion of a newsroom and the drama of North Avenue. I'm grateful to all of you for the conversation and exchange of ideas that I know we'll have on this blog.
John-John Williams IV (Howard County schools)
Where do I begin? Let's start with my name. That seems to always be a source of confusion.John-John Williams IV is my birth name. No, it's not a fake name; no, I did not add the hyphen or the Roman numeral; no, I don't go by JJ, John squared, or double J; and no, my name was not inspired by the Kennedys.
I'm the son of an educator. My mother recently retired as an elementary school principal in my hometown of Syracuse, N.Y. I think I get my writing genes from her; she was the editor-in-chief of her college newspaper.
I'm addicted to television. Ugly Betty, America's Next Top Model, Heroes and Grey's Anatomy currently top my list. Although Grey's has been getting on my last nerve recently. Anywho, When I'm not working at the paper, you can find me in the kitchen. I have a side party planning/catering business that keeps me happy.
I love to travel, watch movies and play sports. This is starting to feel like a singles ad.
I graduated from Howard University in 2001. I have worked at The Sun since November 2005. Previously, I worked as an education reporter at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, and as a public safety reporter at The Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D.