The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Education Reform" ...
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Charter School Investigation
Charter schools were created to bring educational innovation. Instead, some operators used the schools for private gain. Findings of this Philadelphia Inquirer series include high salaries that surpassed what was paid to district superintendents; operators collecting multiple salaries; operators hiring unqualified family members at high salaries; operators creating other entities to do business with the charter so they could collect additional funds; operators acting as charter school landlords and using the money to buy property for other businesses; operators running a charter through a for-profit company that gets all revenue and keeps the surplus.
Tags: charter schools; public education; school reform; charter school law; fraud; Philadelphia Academy; private gain
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Fixing D.C.'s Schools
The Post looked at the high spending and low performance of the D.C. schools and "examined the obstacles to reform."
Tags: education; school district; budget; academics;
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Misdirected funds at Fresno State
Officials at California State University, Fresno, repeatedly allocated corporate contributions to athletics despite rules that limited the money to academic uses. Although the campus contends the misdirection was unintentional, it occurred for years, even after one company’s complaints spurred promises of reform.
Tags: education; university; fundraising; athletics; sports
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Kern's Hidden Epidemic
There are many reasons Kern County, CA, has a high poverty rate. Two of the major reasons are the increasing influx of poor, uneducated immigrants with a culture of poverty. As well as examining the causes of Kern's problems, the story outlines some possible solutions such as schools focusing on educating poor children and creating various immigration reforms.
Tags: immigration; education; poverty; poverty culture
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The Hidden Costs of Tenure
This project is an in-depth look at public school teacher tenure in Illinois, 20 years after lawmakers passed an education reform package designed to make it easier to dismiss underperforming teachers. The investigation found that it is still incredibly hard for schools to fire tenured teachers, and as a result some teachers are doing a poor job.
Tags: school; teachers; state government; FOIA; Freedom of Information; open record; teachers union
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Close Connections
The Asbury Park Press' investigations of municipal officials found that politically powerful attorneys had almost free reign to double bill and over bill the agencies they were supposed to serve. An investigation of the township attorney, who is the top elected Republican in the state, found that he double billed the city by more than $8,000. He initially said the double-billing was not his responsibility, but later admitted it was an accident. The Press found that the project in which the double-billing occurred was part of an unfinished seven-year effort to rewrite the city's ordinances. The senator charged more than $100,000 for the incomplete work, although similar projects cost a quarter as much and can take months, not years, to finish. Close examination of these billing records for the ordinance re-writing project showed his bills included rewrites of ordinances that don't exist, and repeated rewrites of ordinances that were little more than a paragraph or two long.
Tags: Marlboro Township-New Jersey; Council Members; Mayor Matthew V. Scannapieco; developers; Anthony Spalliero; Senator John O. Bennett III; political contributions; double-billing; town budget; ordinances; legal invoice; Monmouth County; campaign contributions; Center for Responsive Politics Marlboro Cultural and Improvement Fund; Keansburg Board of Education; New Jersey State Commission of Investigation; reform bill; elected officials
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A Promise Broken: Failing Indiana's Schoolchildren
The Indianapolis Star produced two eight-page special sections looking at the financing of schools and revealed that the state has repeatedly asked local schools to do more but not provided the needed funding. "Many Indiana schoolchildren are still doing poorly, because, once again, Indiana has created a plan to spur better performance but not followed through with funding and other support to local schools."
Tags: schools; education; school reform; public schools; Indiana schools; state government; education spending; school finance; academic standards; local schools; database mapping project
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Blaming Teachers
Getting rid of underqualified teachers is a popular idea but it might be more expensive and difficult to do than most reformers are willing to admit.
Tags: education; teachers; teacher quality; NEA
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Does Class Size Matter?
Reducing class size is the big trend in education reform. The question is does it work? Because if it doesn't it could be one of the most expensive policy failures ever. If it does work, the nation could reap the benefits for generations.
Tags: education; class size
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Tax reform shackles many metro schools
A popular property tax cut in 1994 is putting Detroit area schools in a bind. Spending cuts occured in at least 40 percent of districts and many reserves are already dried up. Both upper and low income school districts have been hit. This story analyzed how this happened and other effects the proposal had on area schools.
Tags: education; taxes; property taxes; propositions