P-12 Education’s Big Stories to Follow in 2022

How many days of instruction have students really lost amid the pandemic, and what’s the impact? How are districts tracking and reporting COVID-19 infection rates among students and staff? Who’s making sure the services districts invest in to help struggling students recover academically are high quality and grounded in research? Erin Richards, who previously spent 15 years covering public schools for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, shares story ideas for reporters in 2022. In addition to COVID-19 angles, she advises paying close attention to who’s running for local school boards, and efforts by outside groups to limit how and what is taught about race and racism. Richards, a newly named EWA Reporting Fellow, also shares her plans to look closely at early education, and how the ripple effect of the pandemic will affect young children’s social-emotional development and school readiness.