By Tareza Chiasson
This story is a part of the Cincinnati’s Storytelling of Journalism project, which represents a collaboration between Northern Kentucky University (NKU) journalism students, the NKU Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Students interviewed seven professional journalist winners and finalists from the Greater Cincinnati SPJ Chapter’s 2021 Excellence in Journalism Awards to create these Nieman Storyboard Annotations-inspired Q&As and story annotations that analyze and celebrate our region’s award-winning works of journalism.
2021 Excellence in Journalism Award: Finalist, Best Education Story (Note: Max Longberg also won first place in this category for his story, “Meager Results For Ohio Vouchers”.)
Journalists: Max Londberg, The Cincinnati Enquirer & Ambriehl Crutchfield, 91.7 WVXU
Story: “In Six Home Classrooms, Families Keep Learning Alive In A Pandemic”
No one’s life remained the same when the world halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially Max Londberg’s, then Cincinnati Enquirer’s education reporter. Within a few days the task of interviewing quickly turned into extra precautions, and at times, he could be found sitting in his car outside his interviewees’ homes, typing on the laptop slipping from his lap as he held virtual interviews. His life wasn’t the only one that changed, and he knew the impact of COVID-19 had not left anyone untouched.
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| Max Londberg |
Once the idea was conceived and approved by editors, the production of this story left little time to overthink the piece. “It was probably 10 days to two weeks between idea and publication,” said Londberg as he remembered the quick turnout of the piece. Within those few days, each journalist took on three interviewees or families. The six interviewers were conducted over the span of one day, which can be seen in the article as it is broken up by time increments.
Time was a topic contender when considering what could have created a smoother process for the collaborating journalists. “…it would have been nice to have just a little more time because I do remember feeling rushed, and this is one of those stories that I wanted to really write and really try to move people, try to connect people through it,” said Londberg.
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| Ambriehl Crutchfield |
As a team, Londberg and Crutchfield produced the story, “‘I'm really struggling’: In 6 home classrooms, families keep learning alive in a pandemic” which was a finalist for best education story in the Greater Cincinnati SPJ Chapter’s 2021 Excellence in Journalism Awards.
In a question and answer session with Max Londberg, NKU students Tareza Chiasson and Paul Kremer asked Londberg about collaborating with a journalist at another outlet on a story and the things he sees now looking back on this piece. Ambriehl Crutchfield could not attend the interview, but responded to questions via email. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity and will be followed by the annotated story.
How did you break up the work between you and Crutchfield?
Londberg: I think it was definitely evenly distributed between me and Ambriehl. She had to do stories. I had to do stories. If I remember right, we each recorded our interviews, and Ambriehl, either she or someone on her team put together an audio clip, just splicing pieces of interviews I had done and interviews she had done. And then on our side, The Cincinnati Enquirer did all the photography. I think it was a pretty fair distribution of the labor. We tried to keep it that way to keep the bosses happy.
How was this piece different from any others you had done?
Crutchfield: This was my first story co-reporting with someone, specifically at a different outlet. Plus, this was one of the first enterprise stories I did during the pandemic. So, it was a lot of figuring things out on the fly.
Londberg: I don't think I'd ever done a story broken down by time in a single day. I’d never tried to get in depth material interviews and observations from so many families on one day. I mean, that… kind of straining, takes a lot out of you to just hyper focus for an hour while you're on FaceTime in your car, and your laptop's bumping up against your steering wheel. You don't quite have enough room as you're typing everything that's being said.
Is there anything about this story that you look back on and wish you had done differently?
Londberg: The natural breaks in the story are obviously the moving to different families. A [narrative] editor and a previous reporter had always taught me to try to link them through the break. For example, you end on a kid closing a book, maybe, and you open the next story with another kid opening a book, providing that kind of natural segue. I think we tried to do that, but I think we could have put more emphasis on that with this story. And I think it would have added to the readability.
What was something you learned from working on this piece?
Crutchfield: It’s important to slow down and brainstorm how to make the story its strongest by featuring underreported voices. I'm not a naturally detail-oriented person and I wasn't quite used to intentionally creating a story with scene and awesome structure, etc. So working with Max allowed me a chance to see how someone else processed and thought of information, which provoked my own questions. Max is so great at getting these little nuggets of information that strengthens the piece and places the audience there.
Londberg: I think I learned, this sounds cheesy, but I just really enjoyed working with Ambriehl. We were friends before this piece and working this close together on a story that has to be turned quick made us rely on each other. You kind of relinquish some of that control because you're not the only reporter on it anymore. And you have to have some trust between the two of you to do that, and I think we both had that. And that made it, like I said, cheesy, but it made it so rewarding to pull it off with her.
‘I'm really struggling’: In 6 home classrooms, families keep learning alive in a pandemic
By Max Londberg & Ambriehl Crutchfield, The Cincinnati Enquirer & 91.7 WVXU
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| Kareem Elgazzar / The Enquirer |
Journalists from The Enquirer and Cincinnati Public Radio's 91.7 WVXU shared resources to produce this in-depth look at how K-12 students are adjusting to remote learning amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
For the foreseeable future, home learning has replaced the school classroom in Ohio and Kentucky.
School districts throughout the Cincinnati region adapted on the fly to continue educating their students while combating a pandemic. The shift from schoolhouses to impromptu classrooms in homes across the region has strained families and educators.
An array of obstacles threaten continued learning amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Laura Mitchell said recently that the district planned to issue computers on March 16 for student use in homes. In the classroom, students in fourth grade and up used devices such as iPads.
But the district closed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus on the day devices were to be handed out, and schools haven't been open since.
This is just one example of the hurdles facing all school districts, not just CPS, during the crisis.
Inconsistent access to technology and specialists for language and special education services are among the most pressing issues. Such challenges always existed, but the health crisis has amplified them.
With education as it was known upended, The Enquirer and WVXU teamed up to sit or phone in with six families on Thursday to find out what a day of learning at home looks like and to share struggles and triumphs.
Question: Why were six families selected?
Londberg: This probably has to do with three being such a good number generally so each of us took three. Probably had a little to do too with neither of us being able – I shouldn’t speak for her – I was not able to do another one that day. I couldn’t cram in four. Going back to wanting the various perspectives, six allowed us to get some diversity in age, some diversity in race, some diversity in economic background, learning ability and geography were other considerations.
Question: How did you break up the work?
Crutchfield: We brainstormed what angles and struggles might naturally be there for navigating school from home. Then we brainstormed who we already knew or what organizations could get us to the people we prioritized based on geography, ability level, race, gender, etc. We split the list equally to make sure we used our strengthens and stretched ourselves. Also, we wanted to make sure that the common theme of switching to remote learning was highlighted but showcase the differences in each story. We didn't want this to be a read that was too boring or heavy so the best way for us to do that was to focus on six families.
10 a.m.: ‘I miss the whole school environment’
CINCINNATI – Savannah Scott had her sights on prom and graduation since the ninth grade.
The senior had a long lavender dress with roses on the train made before the coronavirus pandemic brought her Cincinnati school's planning to a halt.
Scott, 18, misses attending classes at Gilbert A. Dater High School, especially since it's her last year.
"I'm a cool person so I'm cool with a lot of people," she said. "I just miss the whole school environment. My AP teacher and English teacher. My after-school activity (the girls swimming club)."
With distance learning at her Westwood home, Scott aims to wake up around 10 a.m. each day to check her assignments on Schoology, an online learning platform.
Even that can be challenging for some. Students across the country have reported performance issues with Schoology. Cincinnati Public Schools officials said they're working with IT to expand the capacity of the site to keep up with increased traffic.
The only thing standing between Scott and a successful high school final semester is passing her mandatory English credit this semester, she said. Then she'll be off to the University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash to study pre-health.
She described most of her teachers as being responsive, especially her AP teacher, who she said is "techy."
After checking on assignments and her AP psychology calendar, Scott usually chills, watching TV and YouTube videos until the evening, when she feels the most productive.
As for homework, "I prefer to do it later on," Scott said. "It's better for me."
As someone with access to technology and the internet, she sees this as an experience that will prepare her for the freedom from oversight that college brings.
Question: Can you talk about this tick-tock structure? Was this the plan as you sought out students to feature? How does this structure affect the reporting and why did you choose this format?
Londberg: We aimed to show how ubiquitous these issues were with this structure. Just as you finished one story in one part of town, you entered another story with an entirely new set of trials. We hoped the hour-by-hour nature conveyed to some degree the scope of the problem.
11:20 a.m.: ‘I’m afraid that the coronavirus is gonna get all over the street’
Haddasha Revely-Curtin, the middle of three adopted girls growing up together in Newport, Kentucky, has been confronting heightened anxiety.
At about 11:20 a.m., the 12-year-old settled in on mom Rose Curtin's bed for a history lesson, an iPad and a blue pencil at the ready atop her blue lap desk. This is part of the routine, with Curtin serving as an impromptu educator.
Haddasha listened as Curtin read aloud about ancient Roman culture, her reading punctuated by the occasional flip of a page from the packet sent home by Haddasha's school, Newport Intermediate.
Curtin, an editor for an academic journal and, until it closed, a part-timer at a local yarn shop, adopted Haddasha in 2010. Curtin said she's encouraging Haddasha to read more, but the weeks have been difficult.
"We have to do kind of a triage," Curtin said. "You do this much, and it's not going to be everything."
At one point during Thursday's lesson, Haddasha's voice rose as she pleaded with Curtin to skip a section on gladiators' enslavement.
"I know, I know, OK, listen," Curtin said. "Haddasha, I know you don't do stuff about slavery so we can skip the parts about slavery if you need to, OK?"
Question: This is the first time in the story that you show dialogue between sources. What part did dialogue play in this piece?
Londberg: I think a key part because, especially with children, they can be so forthright. I remember the most impactful moment of reporting this story was when Haddasha talked about being scared of Coronavirus getting all over the street. She said, “I don't know what to do,” and that sense of helplessness just came through in that quote for me when I heard it. And I hope it came through for readers, too, when they read it.
A few minutes later, Haddasha started skimming the packet for answers.
Reading on her own has been difficult for Haddasha. The virus sapped not just hospital systems and economies but Haddasha's capacity for concentration.
"I'm really scared right now about the coronavirus," Haddasha said. "I'm just afraid that the coronavirus is gonna get all over the street in Covington and Cincinnati … and I don't know what to do."
Noon: ‘I want them to keep a joyous outlook about learning’
It was a few minutes after lunchtime and the Minellis had already ticked off half their to-do list.
Question: How much time did you spend with Minellis and her family?
Crutchfield: To the best of my knowledge I think it was about 3-4 hours total including pre-reporting. Oddly enough Minelli was my high school French teacher in Nashville, so there was already some familiarity between us.
Princeton High School French teacher Emily and her husband, Mark, spend their weekdays switching between their full-time responsibilities as parents and workers plus his studies in graduate school. They're also taking on the tall order of being stand-in teachers for their kids.
"It's really hard to fit it into the day when he's trying to work, and I'm trying to work," Emily Minelli said. "We don't want to ignore the kids when we're trying to do that, but we also need to focus on our work."
Before noon, Emily Minelli had already built online content for her students, graded their schoolwork and taught literacy through the video conferencing tool Zoom to a group of her colleagues' kids.
Throughout the week, about a dozen of her colleagues get together and rotate teaching their kids a lesson from a range of subjects. On this day it was Minelli's turn to present an attention-grabbing reading of "Creepy Pair of Underwear" as she took a stab at teaching literacy.
As the 34-year-old held the book, her oldest son, 6-year-old Nico, sat in a kitchen chair, his fingers dancing around the picture book, almost as a test of his virtual classmates' attention.
"Nico, they can't see the book, son," Minelli said as she broke out of her reading tone. "Sit right there."
She said her family has planned out every hour of their school day but are trying to be flexible with their sons.
"What I'm trying to show them is learning is still fun, and just because we're doing it in a different place doesn't mean that it's not a priority," Emily Minelli said. "I just want them to keep a joyous outlook about learning. So, however, we have to do that, that’s what my goal really is."
She acknowledged the privilege her Northside family has since the parents studied education or literacy in postsecondary school.
“Go easy on yourself,” Emily Minelli said as advice to other parents. “TEachers go to school for a long time to be teachers. No one would expect someone to walk into a courtroom and be a lawyer.”
Disclosure: Emily Minelli was Ambriehl Crutchfield’ws high school French teacher.
Question: Ambriehl, can you talk about this disclosure that Minelli was your high school French teacher? Why was that important to include? What are the rules on degree of separation from sources?
Crutchfield: It's important to make these disclosures to maintain trust with the audience through transparency. I think degrees of separation from sources depends on the story. In this case, I didn't know Minelli like I know a family member. In that same breath, there are personal narratives where pulling in people we're close to can provide a different level of analysis and strengthen a story.
1 p.m.: 'I need help’'
Winton Woods Middle School seventh-grader Tene Ba just returned to his Forest Park home after spending about 10 minutes playing Fortnite outside.
After his brief break, he reached for his computer to complete science homework using Google Slides.
Distance learning hasn't been ideal for the 13-year-old Tene, who was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but spent five years in Mauritania, Africa, where he learned French as his first language.
As a non-native English speaker, he faces barriers trying to keep up with daily homework assignments, such as not having someone in his household who can guide him with demanding work.
Question: Each vignette is very short. You had to focus in on very specific moments. How did you choose what details to include and what to leave out?
Londberg: It certainly was difficult to select which details to include. Ultimately I wanted to include those moments that showed tension to accurately reflect these students’ hardship.
Crutchfield: I’d say we primarily focused on what was compelling and relatable. Re-reading Tene’s part, only he could really voice that emotion of uncertainty and instability. I don’t say that to be demeaning but to say that there was raw human emotion that couldn’t be captured from Minelli as a teacher since she is bringing a different level of stakes and perspectives to it.
"I'm really struggling with this," Tene said. "I need help."
A Winton Woods school official said teachers are responsible for maintaining regular contact with students and families. But when Tene tries to communicate his troubles to teachers through email or Google Meet, he said they try to solve the problem without understanding his problem.
Learning at home has left him feeling uncomfortable about his slipping grades. He's eager to return to face-to-face learning in a classroom.
"It would make me feel happy," Tene said. "I'll get my grades up."
2:40 p.m.: ’He’d be able to focus more with his own computer’
"What does the frog eat?" asked Renee Oliver, whose second-grade son stood next to her. "Does it eat flowers? Flies?"
"Flies!" said 7-year-old Sinaca Wagoner Jr.
The exchange marked the start of another reading lesson, which was sent home by Sinaca's charter school, Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy in the West End. Sinaca and every student in the school are considered economically disadvantaged by the Ohio Department of Education.
Question: How important was it to you for this piece to have diverse sources, financially or any other way, to speak on this subject?
Londberg: That was one of our first considerations when we were deciding to do this story. We wanted to convey that the pandemic was touching everyone, affecting everyone, challenging everyone, including parents. If we had done this again, we might have had a section on a teacher or on a parent who was struggling with bringing the classroom into their home. I think the importance of including all these perspectives was to show the pervasiveness of the problem and that few, if any, were immune to it.
Crutchfield: My goal in going into journalism and continuing is to highlight marginalized people’s experiences and voices. I think the pandemic has shown that we are all interdependent on each other. So if we aren’t helping the hardest impacted than we aren’t doing too much better ourselves even if we have better finances etc for now. The power of media is for us to share and learn from each other’s humanity because it validates our own. That’s a super philosophical answer I guess but I’m not interested in continuing the status quo because it harms more people than it helps.
At first, Sinaca offered to read, but then turned to his mother for help.
The day had already been busy. Oliver and Sinaca's father drove their son and their 5-year-old daughter, Keylah, all over Northern Kentucky in search of a laptop for the boy.
They tried multiple Walmarts and a Target, zigzagging from city to city. But all the devices in their price range, under $200, were sold out. Oliver fretted over the wasted gasoline.
While other districts provided Chromebook laptops to all families, Sinaca has relied on his mother's phone for online reading lessons. Sometimes while reading, he's interrupted by calls tied to Oliver's work cleaning apartments.
"Sinaca would be able to focus more" if he had access to a computer like he did in school, Oliver said.
After learning about the frog, Sinaca read on his own. He struggled with the word "picture," but his father, who had taken over reading duty from Oliver, mimed taking his son's photograph.
"Picture!" Sinaca said.
After they finished the story, Sinaca Wagoner Sr. reached for a new one. His son shook his head and tried to flee into the kitchen.
That’s too much reading,” he said.
It's OK,” the senior Wagoner said. “It makes your brain stronger.”
The younger Sinaca trudged back to his father, who held his son’s hand to help him trace the words as he progressed down the page.
Question: This is such a great little moment. Did you recognize its storytelling possibilities immediately? How do you balance the role of observer and questioning journalist when reporting a scene like this?
Londberg: At times when reporting I would find myself forgetting about my job and instead becoming absorbed in these tender acts of humanity. This was one of those moments. I forgot to take notes. Luckily I had an audio recording rolling. And it was not difficult to recall later how Wagoner held his son’s hand.
5:10 p.m.: 'Her goal is to have nothing but A's'
Curiah Simpson, cracked iPhone in hand, drew a simple graph on a sheet of notebook paper.
The high school senior had agreed to help her fifth-grade cousin with math. Simpson, 18, glanced at photos of worksheets on her phone while seated at the family's dining room table, marking points on the graph and plotting their positions.
"I love math," Simpson said. "I just struggle with English."
The table serves as a makeshift classroom for Simpson and her younger siblings, Destiny Taylor, 12, and R Francis Akorli, 3. R's counting and coloring worksheets rested on the table near Simpson's English homework.
As her family chatted and worked around her, Simpson focused on her cousin's math assignment.
Because of a learning disability, Simpson qualifies for one-on-one guidance for English lessons. When in school, the specialist read aloud to Simpson during English class, then together they read a text a second time before moving on to questions.
"That helps me understand by making the words clearer," Simpson said.
Since the closure, Simpson has not had contact with her intervention specialist, though her teacher has held multiple video chats each week with the teen.
Question: Can you talk about the reasons for including details about the teacher and intervention specialist relationship with Curiah?
Londberg: The intervention specialist typically helped her read. But after the shutdown, Curiah had not been able to get that support. One of the things we wanted to hit on was with the shutdown, that support and that added access for students with individual education plans had been lost in some cases and that was the case for Curiah.
Simpson is dually enrolled in the Mount Healthy school district and Cincinnati's Great Oaks career and technical education district. Reva Cosby, the Mount Healthy superintendent, acknowledged the difficulty of providing special education services during the closure, but the district is "trying our darndest" to stay in contact.
"There will be some things we can't do," Cosby said. "If (we) can't get it done, we understand a child may be eligible for compensatory education, and that's what we'll do."
Before helping her cousin with her math homework, Simpson viewed her grades on her laptop.
"Her goal is to have nothing but A's," said her mother, Lakresha Alexander. "She wants to be perfect all the time."
She's nearly met her goal: all A's and one B, in English.
Question: Why did you choose to end the story the way that you did?
Londberg: A driving theme for all six of them was that these students really wanted to learn. And I remember being surprised, interviewing students, hearing so many of them saying, “I just want to go back to school, I really want to go back to school.” There’s this myth that students don’t like school, and maybe they say that a lot, but really, maybe there’s a silver lining here. Students realized how much they loved school, and being with friends and teachers, and learning new things.
