Staff Writer - Race, Opportunity and Equity

Education Week, an independent, nonprofit media organization that provides news, analysis, and research on K-12 American education, is seeking a Staff Writer to join our newsroom. Our preference is that this position be based in the Washington, D.C. area.

Job Summary
Education Week seeks a versatile and experienced reporter to cover news and enterprise stories that spotlight, explain, and elevate solutions on issues of equity and access to a high-quality education for students, especially those from historically marginalized communities. This reporter would be part of a two-person team focused on issues of educational equity but would join a newsroom in which every beat and every reporter is responsible for understanding and reporting on the various ways issues of inequity affect students and their opportunities to be successful.

This reporter must be skilled at spotting equity angles in a broad range of topics, including, but not limited to special education, teacher quality, curriculum, and access to rigorous coursework and enrichment opportunities. They should have a passion—and track record—for collaborating with a wide range of newsroom colleagues, including beat reporters, editors, and digital and visual journalists. The ideal candidate is willing and able to travel to visit classrooms and report from schools across the country. We are looking for a strong writer who can weave compelling narratives as easily as quick-turn breaking news and trend stories.
At Education Week, we believe that our nation’s historic racism has deeply influenced public education in a range of ways, from a patchwork funding system that sustains inequity of resources to echoing and perpetuating cultural biases in classrooms and curricula. Highlighting these impacts has long been a core tenet of our mission and we recognize that to properly serve that mission our organization must understand these influences more deeply.

Job Responsibilities:

Pitch, report and write a range of daily stories, as well as short and longer-term enterprise and analytical stories that elevate EdWeek’s expertise and command of the most urgent issues in the K-12 field.
Collaborate with the Managing Editor, Assistant Managing Editors, and other newsroom leaders, including the Editor in Chief, to plan and coordinate coverage.
Maintain and deepen command of issues essential to the improvement and healthy sustaining of a vibrant public education system for all students regardless of background.
Collaborate on multimedia and visual storytelling with digital and visual journalism teams to ensure integration of visual, digital and written elements to create compelling and engaging journalism.
Contribute to EdWeek’s other content areas as assigned, such as special reports, special projects, and live and virtual events.
Contribute to print production duties, such as proofreading, as assigned.

Qualifications and Skills:

A minimum of 5 years of daily journalism experience, including beat reporting, writing, and partnering with visual and digital journalists. Bachelor’s degree preferred.
Keen eye for spotting daily news opportunities and emerging trends in assigned beat area.
Command of historical, political, and social dynamics that perpetuate systemic inequities for different groups, with ability to apply that knowledge and context in coverage of the K-12 field.
A sophisticated understanding of audience analytics and how to use the data to help make informed decisions on coverage, framing, and audience.
Excellent communication skills, with ability to foster creativity and collaboration with editing team, fellow reporters, visual and digital journalists, social media and audience analytics teams.
Excellent story ideation and building skills, writing prowess, and line editing abilities, as well as command of AP style and ability to learn and apply Education Week style.
Ability to work well in a fast-paced, highly collaborative team environment.
Excellent priority setting and time management skills with ability to juggle multiple assignments and projects.
Versatility and adaptability in working with all members of editorial team and wider EdWeek organization.
Ability and willingness to travel on occasion for reporting assignments.