Biden loan forgiveness benefits Fresno students + Inside look at Ed Lab’s impact journalism

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Hey everyone! It’s Tuesday, Sept. 13. This is Lasherica, the Ed Lab’s Engagement Reporter. Last week was busy, right? From international news like the Queen of England dying to remembering 9/11 to local news about a former Fresno principal caught on video shoving a student to the ground.

But in all of that, I don’t want you guys to forget something very important.

Let’s not forget the exceptional journalism work of the Education Lab’s K-12 Reporter Julianna Morano simply because Fresno Unified School released the video footage to everyone. What do I mean by that? Based on a tip, Julianna is the journalist who pushed FUSD to release the footage, which spurred action, including the police department acknowledging they’d mishandled a police report for two months.

During last week’s news conference, Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama thanked Julianna by name for helping bring the case to his attention, which spurred further action from police.

I interviewed Julianna so you all can get a glimpse into how this story started and how she reported on it.

I’ll italicize Julianna’s words.

Lasherica: How did this reporting start?

Julianna: This story couldn’t have happened without the anonymous tips I’d received about the June 7 incident shortly after it had happened. It’s thanks to those folks’ bravery that the world is able to see what happened in the Wolters Elementary cafeteria that day. So this is a shameless plug to contact the Ed Lab with your tips — we will follow through whenever possible.

You can email us at lthornton@fresnobee.com or jmorano@fresnobee.com or our editor Rob.

Lasherica: How did you go about reporting for this story?

Julianna: The reporting process was very different from the sequence I’m used to: when I have the news and then move forward from there to get perspectives, context, etc. Arguably the most critical piece of news – the video evidence of the June 7 incident – was out of reach until the day the story published (I didn’t even see the video myself until the day after our first story broke).

Here’s that first story: Warrant issued for former Fresno Unified principal accused of ‘altercation’ with student

So with the helpful guidance of my editor Rob Parsons, we worked backwards and got creative. Between our July PRA (when we found out) and last week, I secured what public and easily attainable information I could, such as all the positions former principal Brian Vollhardt had held with FUSD. I kept following up about our PRA to get a sense of whether we’d actually receive the video or not. When it seemed like we would, I obtained whatever information off-the-record and on background I could in order to have enough to finally contact Fresno Police, the district attorney’s office, and Child Protective Services to get their responses about the incident. That’s when I learned of the warrant against Vollhardt, and it all went from there.

Here’s the second story: Police admit ‘failures’ investigating video of ex-Fresno principal allegedly striking student

And the third: Ex-principal had history with student he’s accused of striking, Fresno Unified records show

Lasherica: What obstacles did you have to overcome to get to the truth? What kept you motivated to keep going?

Julianna: As I think many journalists would also say, it was a little bit maddening to know what I’d been told but not have the confirmation or records to go public with it for so long. But again, my wise editor helped me get creative in the interim. This is also, frankly, a disturbing story to report on, as anyone could gather from simply watching the video. The response I’ve gotten from readers, community members, and fellow journalists has helped remind me of the vital importance of following through on stories like this that are about the safety of children, even while getting close to the story may take a mental toll on me individually.

Lasherica: What stories can our readers expect in the future?

Julianna: Moving forward, we’re going to focus on a couple key questions: How did Brian Vollhardt get hired by another Fresno County K-12 district shortly after resigning from FUSD? What’s going to happen with his administrative credentials and his credential to work with students with autism? How will this play out in the courts?

Here are three more stories that Julianna has done between last week and now:

Principal accused of striking Fresno student got another job. Now he’s been suspended

Questions linger in wake of video showing ex-Fresno principal strike student with special needs

Attorney for Ex-Fresno principal charged with child abuse says video was ‘out of character’

From pushing for records to driving out to Golden Plains to question the district about hiring Vollhardt, Julianna stuck with this story. And she spurred action.

But she credits it all back to her sources.

“The story wouldn’t exist without the people who tipped me off about this,” Julianna said.

Her work is an example of why the Education Lab is so important.

HERE’S MORE FROM THE EDUCATION LAB

‘One of a kind’ ag tech program to train 8,400 workers

A partnership of eight Valley community colleges in Merced and Fresno counties will collaborate in the effort.

Fresno Unified unveils Tatarian Elementary, the district’s first school named for Armenian

“Mr. Tatarian would be proud to know that the next generation of journalists will begin here at H. Roger Tatarian Elementary School.”

Fresno Unified has a new graduation requirement: Class on ‘race, ethnicity and indigeneity’

“Will we have some people who don’t agree with it? Absolutely. But our kids deserve this.”

Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval has ‘ambitious’ plans to put Fresno State on international stage

The event drew roughly 1,000 people to the Save Mart Center on Friday afternoon.

Two colleges in California’s Central Valley are ranked in the Top 5 in the nation, region

U.S. News & World Report released its annual college rankings Monday.

MORE FRESNO-AREA EDUCATION NEWS

United Health Centers is opening its Fresno-Church Health Center on the Juan Felipe Herrera Elementary campus Thursday at 11 a.m.

Among the nation’s millions of people who will benefit from President Joe Biden’s loan forgiveness proposal are thousands of Fresno Pacific University students and alumni, according to the university. The college’s Financial Service Office estimates that 5,256 students who took out loans since 2018 – the most recent data available – would have the majority of their federal debt erased.

Of that number, 4,017 received Pell Grants, making them eligible for $20,000 in loan forgiveness while the other 1,239 are eligible for $10,000 in forgiveness.

All those students borrowed an average of more than $15,000 with the Pell Grant recipients borrowing about $500 more.

Students whose family income is less than $50,000 annually are eligible for federal Pell Grants, but most students receiving the financial aid come from families who make less than $20,000, according to information from U.S. News & World Report which recently ranked Fresno Pacific as No. 2 for enrolling and graduating a high percentage of Pell Grant recipients out of the regional universities in the west.

College debt falls most heavily on graduates who come from families of lower incomes and people of color as well as graduates just starting their career, Fresno Pacific said in a media release about the loan forgiveness helping its students and alumni.

“These are the very students who attend FPU in the greatest numbers,” President André Stephens said. “Even a modest debt at this time in their lives can have a lasting effect that makes it harder for them to enjoy the well-documented economic and social benefits of higher education. College debt can be debilitating just at the time graduates should be building success for themselves, their families and their communities.”

STILL WANT MORE EDUCATION NEWS? HERE’S WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING

OPINION: As students return to campus, higher ed must build on what we learned during the pandemic

“It’s as if we spent two years building the foundation for a new future, only to abandon it for the familiar discomfort of a system widely in need of reinvention.” | The Hechinger Report

Dual-immersion programs show promise in fighting enrollment declines

“Dual-language immersion programs, which teach all students in English and another language, are so much in demand that some school districts have been able to stop declining enrollment or even grow enrollment in a school by beginning a dual-language program.” | EdSource

LAUSD’s hefty school board salaries spared by Senate bill

LAUSD school board members currently earn more than five times the cap in the education code for a district its size. | EdSource

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