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 "teacher training" ...
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Questions Are Raised on Restraint Training
This examination detailed how school districts across California have relied on dubious techniques developed by an obscure industry to physically restrain unruly students. While few of these restraint maneuvers are grounded in evidence-based research, they are used to subdue students who are emotionally disturbed or mentally disabled -- some of the most difficult and sensitive situations that teachers encounter. The story also found that there is little regulatory oversight of the restraint industry.
Tags: California; students; restraint
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Paying for Schools
This series of stories takes an in-depth look at how schools are financed in California. The investigation found it to be an incredibly convoluted and inequitable system. The distribution of money from district to district is uneven, and politics often determine who gets the most money. A lot of the money is doled out based on outdated programs with little connection to modern day needs in schools. Much of the money is released to schools with little or no state monitoring of whether the programs are working or even happening, and some actually aren't.
Tags: spending; school programs; Governor Gray Davis; school budget; school funding; Gifted and Talented Education; Bilingual Teacher Training; Gang Risk Intervention; West Contra Costa Unified School District; Dropout Prevention Program; Anti-Defamation League; English Language Acquisition Program; Department of Education; Economic Impact Aid; California Legislature; Senate Rules Committee; public education
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Who's teaching our children?
One of the biggest shortage areas in teaching is in special education. About one of every 10 US special education teaching jobs is either left open or filled by an underqualified teacher. St. Louis Post-Dispatch education reporter Holly Hacker examines the shortage of special education teachers.
Tags: disabilities; children; education; special education; shortage; qualification; training
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Feed 5: Best of Show and Tell
1) Jennifer Kraus (WTVF-Nashville) This story exposes problems at the Nashville office of international charity "Feed the Children." In a four-month investigation, WTVF-TV's undercover cameras caught the charity's staff loading up their personal cars with donated items and taking the items home. 2) Deborah Sherman (WFXT - Boston) Costa Rican trips for child sex. Actually spoke with girls who used to get paid by American tourists for sex. Focuses on one area man charged with this crime. 3) Anna Werner, David Raziq (KHOU-Houston) KHOU-TV reports that "You're in physical pain. You need help. So you go to your doctor expecting needed relief and comfort. But what if in the process of treating you, you realize this healer's touch has become 'sexual?' That's what dozens of Houston women claimed happened to them when they were referred to a local health professional, a professional they claimed used their trust to molest and even rape them. His name is Shin Higashiura and he claimed to be a Master of Shiatsu, also known as acupressure, a Japanese massage therapy that promises health benefits...." 4) Jilda Unruh (WCCO-Minneapolis) An investigation reveals that automatic door sensors can't detect certain colors. The doors often close on elderly people, causing them harm. 5) Tom Merriman/Jeff Harris (WEWS-Cleveland) The story investigates how state-trained lifeguards perform on state beaches as compared to privately trained lifeguards on private beaches. Follows both teams though a simulation. The state team fails horribly and never recovers the dummy planted for them to rescue. 6) Jim Schaefer; Shellee Smith (WXYZ-Detroit) WXYZ-TV discovered that the leaders of Highland Park, a poor city surrounded by Detroit, had virtually ignored a major problem in the 911 emergency response system while continuing to enjoy the relatively expensive perks of their jobs. While claiming there was no money in the budget to fix the problem, the mayor leased a brand-new Lincoln with city cash. Undercover video found citizens at risk, fire fighters in danger and no one helping. 7) Drew Griffin (KCBS-Los Angeles) "The Real ConAir" Investigation reveals department of corrections transporting convicts on commercial flights. Passengers are not told who's sitting beside them. Planes are forced to land because of disturbances during the flight. A girl is sexually assaulted by one of these convicts. 8) Robb Leer; Maria Tomasch (KSTP-Minneapolis) Inmates can change their names on the taxpayer's dime. 9) Jeremy Rogalski; Bill Dutton; Gerry Lanosga; Kathleen Johnston (WTHR-Indianapolis) WTHR-TV reports that "a source mentioned to us that numerous DUI cases were being dismissed because police witnesses fail to appear in court... After we crunched a slice of our county's criminal justice data ... We found thousands of DUI cases - nearly one in ten - thrown out because cops didn't show..." 10) Wes Williams; C.J. Ward (KPNX-Phoenix) Security guards with criminal records have a "License to Steal." 11) Tony Kovaleski; Matt Goldberg (KPRC-Houston) Ninety-eight guns were discovered in schools in 10 of Houston's largest school districts -- that works out to 5,864 students per gun. 12) Phil Williams; Chris Clark (WTVF-Nashville) WTVF-TV's investigation into the backgrounds of school teachers found more than three dozen convicted felons working in Metro Nashville-Davidson County schools. 13) Chris Halsne; Kim Albro; Dave Weed (KWTV-Oklahoma City) Voters handed Oklahoma City Schools a 93 million dollar bond in 1993 to improve schools. The money is now gone, but many projects remain unfinished. KWTV-TV's investigation found millions of dollars in waste, fraud and mismanagement. 14) Laure Quinlivan; Jeff Keene; Ken Fulk; Mark Shafer; Scott Diener; Stuart Zanger (WCPO-Cincinnati) WCPO-TV's investigation "... to monitor County officials as they began spending nearly a billion dollars of taxpayer money... earmarked to build two, new sports stadiums for our city's professional sports teams, the Bengals and Red. As (the) investigation enters its third year, work on the first stadium is two-thirds complete and ground will soon break on the second. Already, our investigation has revealed broken promises, manipulation of numbers in official reports, political cronyism in contract awards, creation of 'pass-through' companies and other questionable and possibly illegal activities...." 15) Jim Barry; John Campbell; Sam Zeff; Jennifer Snell; Denise Haley; Brad Naw (WTXF-Philadelphia) After transit union strike crippled Philadelphia's bus and subway service for forty days, WTXF-TV investigated the region's transportation agency - Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA is one of the largest and most expensive transit systems in the county. This investigation exposed a widespread culture of laziness and dishonest work habits that was allowing hundreds of buses with potentially dangerous problems out onto the street each day. 16)Darcy Spears; Kim Kruger (KVBC-Las Vegas) "Taken for a Ride". Taxi drivers getting kickbacks for taking clients to certain bars/stripclubs.
Tags: TAPE; Investigative reporting; computer-assisted reporting; IRE; FOI; CAR; no transcripts
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Where The Bad Boys Are
The Rhode Island Months reports on training schools for juvenile offenders. The schools attempt to put kids back on the right track with mandatory education, helping kids learn how to learn when they have blown off or been blown off by school. GED scores that are well above passing is what happens when "you get them away from all the bullshit in their lives and they can focus on education," one teacher says. The recidivism rate is still around 30 percent, though. Each kids cots taxpayers about $80,000 a year to house at the schools.
Tags: juvenile justice; GED; training schools
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High Noon
This article examines Rio Grande College, a small college in southwest Texas. Blair finds that "too many students enrolled in Rio Grande College's teacher program were flunking the battery of mandatory exit exams, state officials declared. The program was given 36 months to raise its scores or face being the first teacher-training program shut down under a high-stakes accountability law."
Tags: education; school; teacher-training program; Rio Grande College
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Not Fit to Teach Your Kid
The Daily News finds that New York's lowest-performing schools are staffed by some teachers who have not met state teaching requirements. Looks at specific schools with high numbers of uncertified teachers and areas of the city where uncertified teachers are clustered.
Tags: teachers; uncertified; computer assisted; teacher training; reading scores
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Grading Our High Schools
This Pittsburgh Tribune-Review special report compares area high schools on the basis of their average standardized test scores, attendance and funding. The publication looks at some of the major issues facing Pittsburgh schools: security, class size, vocation training and teacher salaries.
Tags: schools; Pittsburgh; violence; grades; test scores
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No title (id: 12671)
In May, the Cincinnati Public Schools announced $31.4 million in budget cuts to balance the budget. At the time district officails told reporters, parents, teachers and principals that they couldn't detail the impact of the cuts on a school-by-school basis until the fall. Using the districts own data, The Enquirer was able to show how much less each school would have more than a month before administrators. (July 30, 1995)
Tags: Skertic CAR Schools cut supplies staff training Contest entry 11 pgs.
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Drivers Education: Out of Control
A Pioneer Press investigation found that the state of Minnesota has just one person working an average of three days a week overseeing 65 commercial driving school and their 400 instructors. The series reveals that driving instructors have molested students, counseled them on how to beat speeding tickets and drunken driving charges, cheated them of training time, and allowed them to drive without supervision. (Feb. 5 - 7, 1995)
Tags: Browning Collins CAR Drivers education: out of control Contest Entry Fraud Teacher 22 pgs.