Juan Lozada’s grandson missed out on almost his entire fifth-grade year at his dual language elementary school in San Antonio, Texas. All because of a child-friendly knife, marketed as safe for ages 3 and up, that the boy brought to school in September 2025 to cut fruit for his lunch. Lozada was one of the […]
Sarah Butrymowicz
What I do: I lead Hechinger’s investigative and data work, including reporting, writing and editing these stories.
My background: I joined Hechinger in 2010 as an intern and then was hired as a staff writer. I spent the next four years traveling the country and writing feature stories about K-12 and higher education. After attending data training sessions and realizing how much I loved working with spreadsheets, I became Hechinger’s data editor and began incorporating original data analysis into our newsroom’s work. In 2016, I worked on a major investigation into child care in Mississippi and discovered my passion for that type of journalism. For the last several years, I’ve overseen Hechinger’s investigative team. I think journalists play a critical role exposing problems, holding those in power to account and providing examples of potential solutions to improve people’s lives. I also love sharing the data and reporting skills I have picked up at Hechinger with others and have taught data journalism to fellow education writers.
Journalistic ethics: I understand that when people agree to talk to me, they are trusting me to be fair and accurate with how I convey the information they are sharing. I take that very seriously. My articles undergo a thorough fact check process, including going back to sources directly and redoing data analysis from scratch. I reach out to everyone mentioned in a story and am transparent about my reporting with them. I’m sensitive to the fact that there may be a need to protect the privacy of people, particularly minors, in difficult situations. I follow the Hechinger Report’s code of ethics, which is informed by that of the Society of Professional Journalists.
My stories are free to read because of donations from readers like you. Whether it’s $15 or $150, consider becoming a member to support our nonprofit newsroom. Every gift helps.
Phone: 212-678=3585
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