Penn GSE To Host Education Reporters

August 3, 2011 - The National Education Writers Association, the nation’s leading professional organization for education reporters, will hold its 2012 National Seminar on May 17-19 on the Penn campus. Under an innovative partnership, EWA’s 65th annual National Seminar will be jointly hosted by Penn’s Graduate School of Education and the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Washington-based membership organization for scholars who specialize in education research.

The partnership reflects a commitment by the participants to foster stronger links between the nation’s education journalism and research communities, in the interest of expanding the quantity and quality of coverage of education nationwide.  

“Reporters, researchers, and scholars all have unique perspectives on what makes educational improvement so challenging,” said Andy Porter, Dean of Penn GSE. “Working together on a seminar like this lets us address the most consequential topics in the field in a way that improves reporting and research.”

Attended by some 250 journalists, communications professionals, scholars, and newsmakers, the EWA National Seminar is the country’s premier conference for those working at the intersection of education and journalism.

“As we work to help EWA members make a mark in the fast-changing media landscape, we’re committed to exploring the most important education issues of the day,” said EWA President Stephanie Banchero, national education reporter for The Wall Street Journal. “I can think of no better partners to help us do that than AERA and Penn GSE.”

AERA Executive Director Felice Levine noted that the research organization is building upon previous collaboration with EWA. AERA’s annual convention in New Orleans last April overlapped with EWA’s National Seminar there on April 8-10, and the two organizations jointly produced an April 10-11 seminar on education research for journalists.

“The outpouring of interest from the education research community in hosting the 2012 conference underscores the unique strengths that this collaboration offers,” Levine said. “We are delighted to support EWA’s efforts to build bridges between journalists and scholars.”

Dale Mezzacappa, EWA’s immediate past president and contributing editor of the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, said the conference’s location will open a window on a city being buffeted by cross-currents affecting schools across the nation. “Philadelphia is a poster child for the big issues surrounding urban education,” said Mezzacappa.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jill DiSanto-Haines / jdisanto@upenn.edu / 215-898-4820