Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/34960
Area students; reports of how charter schools in Monterey and Chico segregated some students; coverage of the fallout from pink slips issued for thousands of Los Angeles educators — these are among the works honored by CTA’s 52nd annual John Swett Awards for Media Excellence, recognizing outstanding achievements in reporting and interpreting public education issues during 2010. The 19 winners were chosen from 80 entries by an indepen- dent panel of media professionals. The winners received their awards during a reception in their honor June 3 at CTA’s State Coun- cil meeting in Los Angeles. “These winners have docu- mented with great skill and com- passion the challenges and victories teachers witness in our classrooms every day,” said CTA President David A. Sanchez. The winners honored for work appearing in 2010 are: Newspapers Nanette Asimov, San Fran- cisco Chronicle, for her feature story looking at the harsh reali- BELOW: Mother Jones reporter Kristina Rizga accepts her award at a State Coun- cil reception. Nineteen winners of John Swett Awards A look at one man’s crusade to donate free school sup- plies to 150,000 needy Bay ties and costs faced by three UC Berkeley students. Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, for continuous cover- age of Bay Area education issues. Sandy Banks, Los Angeles Times, for her feature column in- terview with a Los Angeles Uni- fied School District teacher who repudiated her negative ranking given by a controversial system devised by the Los Angeles Times to rank educators in the district. Connie Llanos, Los Angeles Daily News, for her series of sto- ries about the upheavals caused by nearly 5,000 pink slips issued for LAUSD educators. Hannah Dreier, Contra Costa Times, for her profile of a UC Berkeley graduate whose nonprofit “K to College” pro- gram partnered with dozens of Bay Area school districts to pass out 150,000 free bags of school supplies to lower-in- come students. Claudia Melendez Salinas, Monterey County Herald, for con- tinuous coverage of local educa- tion issues, including a study about charter schools being more segregated than traditional public schools, and how Latinos were underrepresented in Monterey County charters. Margaret Lavin, San Mateo County Times, for her popular weekly column “Elementary, My Dears.” Neil Gonzales, San Mateo County Times, for a feature story about API scores for San Mateo County schools and how per-pu- pil funding is tied to resources and achievement. Rob Rogers, Marin Independent Journal, for his news story analyz- ing the salaries of Marin County superintendents. Chris Vongsarath, Campbell Re- 34 California Educator | JUNE 2011 porter, for continuous cover- age of local education issues. Dick Sparrer, Los Gatos Weekly-Times, for a humor- ous column recalling how he accidentally ate his son’s sci- ence project. Leslie Layton, Chico News and Review, for her news fea- ture story about local charter schools creating an education- al divide, with English learners being underrepresented at all but one of 10 Chico charter schools last year. The Saratoga News, for capturing the variety of local events and student voices in local schools on a consistent basis, such as in a special sec- tion profiling the accom- plishments of the high- achieving Saratoga High School class of 2010. Journals, Magazines, Websites Kristina Rizga, mother jones.com, for her series of sensitive stories about strug- gles and triumphs at Mission High School in San Francis- co, where she was embedded for a year. Anthony Cody, Educa- tion Week blogger and teacher, for his “Living in Dialogue” blog entries about vital school issues and pro- tests over funding cuts. Louis Freedberg, www. ABOVE: Attendees at the awards ceremony give a standing ovation for UTLA member Faye Ireland, whose repudiation of her rating in the Los Angeles Times was reported by L.A. Times columnist Sandy Banks. Ireland (center) accepted the award for Banks, who was unable to attend. Ann Katzburg and Darren Day of San Ramon Valley Education Association accept an award for Louis Freedberg from Communica- tions Committee Chair Katie Young and CTA President David A. Sanchez. Television Maria Leticia Gomez, KDTV, californiawatch.org, for continu- ous coverage of education issues. Radio John North, KCLU Radio, Thousand Oaks, for a locally pro- duced news story “K-12: On the Edge” that looked at the impacts of education cuts and included in- terviews with teachers. the Univision affiliate in San Francisco, for her news feature segment about education cuts and how Hispanic families are push- ing back to protect public schools. KTVU, a Fox affiliate in Oakland, for its coverage of last year’s statewide March 4 Day of Action. MIKE MYSLINSKI CTA photos by Malaika Costello-Dougherty