Journalism
I started my career as a reporter, covering higher education at The Daily Herald in Provo, Utah and then K-12 education at The Riverdale Press in the Bronx, New York. In 2007, my reporting won awards from the New York Press Association and the Education Writers Association.
Education Reporting
Parents will pay big bucks for these works of art
To say the artists are up-and-coming is an understatement - some of them are still learning to tie their shoes.
The first day of school: a Press special report
Hand-delivered
A class of PS 24 first-graders boarded a yellow school bus bound for City Hall last week. Also on the bus was a box of approximately 500 letters, signed by teachers, parents and their children, to Mayor Bloomberg, pleading for him to reconsider the enormous budget cuts proposed for city schools. Next year, PS 24 will have to do without $258,000. As a result, the school will not be able to staff a librarian.
Is overcrowding for real? Yes, says Ed committee
Overcrowded schools were the hot topic at the meeting of the Education Committee of Community Board 8 held May 20.
PS 24 principal promises a seat for every child
Despite threats of overcrowding, PS 24 Principal Philip Scharper assured local parents that all kindergarten students in the Riverdale school's zone will have a seat next year.
No room for new students
A waiting list? For a public school a block away from her home? The mother was appalled.
Crowding? What crowding? says Board of Ed
Good news — only two local elementary schools are overcrowded. That is, if kindergarten classes are capped at 25 and fourth- and fifth-grade rooms enroll no more than 31. But if class sizes were reduced to the Department of Ed’s “target” numbers almost all eight local elementary schools would be bursting at the seams.
Top-performing schools earn average marks
High-performing schools PS 24 and the Robert J. Christen School, PS 81, scored Bs on the city Department of Education's first-ever progress reports, while schools with historically low test scores, like PS 7, PS 310 and PS 360, all earned As.
Parents petition to nix construction
Denouncing a plan to sacrifice a playground to construct a four-story addition, parents at the Sheila Mencher Van Cortlandt School, PS/MS 95, are circulating a petition asking that the idea be scrapped.
Overcrowding plagues PS 81
The Robert J. Christen School, PS 81, is so crowded that some children are attending classes in stairwell landings.
Smaller class size tops list of parents' desires
Given a list of 10 possible improvements to schools, a plurality of Riverdale- Kingsbridge parents said reducing class size is their No.1 concern.
Many teachers give principals low grades
This four-part series evaluates the results of the citywide Learning Environment Survey at local schools. Last week 'The Press' reported that parents are bypassing school parent coordinators when they need information. This week we look at teachers' relationships with their principals.
Community Ed Council welcomes Karen Green
Karen Green may be soft-spoken, but that's never stopped the Riverdale resident from putting in her two-cents at local school board meetings, and, in recent years, at local community education council meetings. As of Sept. 20, though, the former teacher will do so in a more official capacity.
Learning to cope with autism
For parents of autistic children, the closest thing to a "cure" is a maze of schools, a labyrinth of Web sites and a jumble of costly therapies.
It's no wonder the symbol of Autism Speaks, the nation's leading nonprofit organization devoted to autism, is a single piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
It's no wonder the symbol of Autism Speaks, the nation's leading nonprofit organization devoted to autism, is a single piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
'Gifted' children face Catch-22
A long-sought gifted and talented program is set to open this September at a pair of District 10 schools — PS 24 in Spuyten Duyvil and PS 54 in Fordham. Each school offered about 28 seats to first-graders who scored highest on competitive exams, but three times as many parents applied for places at the Spuyten Duyvil school and it doesn't have enough room for Riverdale's brightest children.
Education Council finally elects new slate of officers
After failing to have enough members show up and vote at last month's meeting, the Community Education Council of District 10 barely made quorum last week to hold its officer elections.
Kids can carry phones to school
Parents hoping to keep their kids on speed dial got some support from the City Council, which passed a bill July 25 to allow students to carry cell phones to and from school, but despite the legislation, a defiant Department of Education is standing by its ban of cell phones in schools.
Koppell gives schools $$$
Students at the Robert J. Christen School, PS 81, will be able to surf the net in style this year, thanks to funding secured by City Councilman Oliver Koppell.
Apathy plagues community education council
On July 19 — the first meeting since a new slate of parents was elected in May — only four of the 11 members made an appearance.
Four schools get highest grades
Of the 13 schools with released reports, not one was rated "undeveloped" the lowest possible rating. Four schools — PS 24, PS 81, PS/MS 95 and MS/HS 368 — received the highest grade of "well developed."
Merging Faith and Self
At age 19, Matt Kulisch told his family that he was gay. But he remained a faithful Mormon and served a proselyting mission in London. He returned to BYU and for three years followed the usual pattern: he kept silent.
UVSC preps for 2008 university status
Until its status becomes official (July 1, 2008) the little college that could will be hard at work, approving graduate degrees, recycling lots and lots of business cards and updating its Wikipedia entry.
UVSC proposes tuition increase
Utah Valley State College President William Sederburg outlined a proposed tuition hike -- ranging from $28 to $63 extra per student, per semester -- in a state-mandated "Truth in Tuition" presentation at the college on Wednesday.
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Local News Reporting
Ceran family 'dumbfounded' by fundraising
Springville teen admits to manslaughter in car crash
Excellent Utah job market leaving state money unused
BYU study finds that materialism, not money, may determine marital bliss
Yesterday's luxuries are today's needs, and it's not helping married couples. A recent study authored by Dr. Jason Carroll, assistant professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University, found that materialism -- not income -- determines a married couple's financial woes.
Cold temps slow iProvo
Old man winter didn't just break Utah County's pipes this January, he also damaged fibers in Provo's $40 million fiber-optic network -- iProvo -- causing slow, disrupted service to its customers.
Excellent Utah job market leaving state money unused
Imagine this: Thousands of dollars of federal money here in Utah County to support your education, guarantee a job and require no payback. Now imagine this: A job market so good, the money just sits.
Ceran family 'dumbfounded' by fundraising
The Cedar Hills family was tragically split on Christmas Eve, when an alleged drunk driver broadsided their Mercury Sable, killing their mother, Cheryl, and two of her children, 15-year-old Ian and 7-year-old Julianna.
Concert to help family in fatal car wreck
Utah's performing arts community is gathering to benefit some performers of their own.
Valley welcomes first baby of 2007
"The nurses kept asking if I wanted a New Year's baby or a tax break," she said. "My response was, 'Get him out of me.' "
Finder is keeper of $10,000 cash
Today, a BYU maintenance worker is $10,000 richer for a decade-old act of honesty.
The science of sounding epic
Researchers at Texas A&M and Brigham Young University believe Antonio Stradivari's sonorous secret could be just a little pesticide.
Engendered species: Bluebird Cafe gives songwriters voice with relocation to Sundance
Sundance is the only location to host the Bluebird Cafe concerts outside of Nashville.
Profiles
Law School Opens Doors to Katrina Refugee
On Aug. 29, 2005, the weather in Provo was warm and the buzz of the first day of a new semester filled the air. But as students swarmed campus that day, another story was unfolding a couple of thousand miles away.
A Jig for Scotland
A native of Dumbarton, Scotland, Couper started Highland dancing at age 6. Ten years later she became the junior world champion at the world’s largest Highland games event—the Cowal Gathering in Argyll, Scotland.
Looking for the Old Home
When Gloria Gong (’07) left for China with a BYU study abroad group in August 2005, she was searching for a story to tell. Little did she know it would be her own.
College Cuisine on Camera
Once a week Nixon hosts Kelsey’s Kitchen, featuring “fast, fun, and affordable” recipes for college students. The show airs daily on the iProvo network, but the former Cougarette and native Utahn hopes to market it nationally someday.