This story also appeared in Washington Monthly Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, the White House and Congress have worked aggressively to overhaul federal student financial aid. On July 1, many of those efforts will come to fruition. Student borrowers will begin to see different options for loan repayments and forgiveness, while […]
Meredith Kolodner
What I do: I write about how education issues and policies affect people’s lives. I dig through documents and travel to different parts of the country to listen to people’s stories. I work to uncover the truth behind the rhetoric of those in power, find out if people are being harmed and hold the people responsible to account.
My background: My first reporting job was in 2006 at The Press of Atlantic City, where I covered housing, courts, schools and life in general in three New Jersey counties. I moved to New York City to work at The Chief newspaper, where I covered issues affecting city workers, including school staff. In 2008, I became an education reporter at the New York Daily News. We broke stories that exposed the misuse of public funds and how officials were covering up low test scores. I left the News when my second child was born and did stints as an editor and writer at InsideSchools and Type Investigations. In 2014, I was hired as a staff reporter at The Hechinger Report, where I started covering K-12 stories before shifting to writing about higher education. It still feels like a privilege that my job is to listen to people, figure out who's benefiting or being hurt by laws passed or decisions made, and write their stories.
Journalistic ethics: Making sure my stories are accurate and fair is the most important thing to me. Because I report on young people and issues that intimately affect families’ lives, I take extra care to make sure not just that my stories are accurate but that the people in them are fairly represented. We all have our personal opinions, and I try to be aware of my own and come to each story with an open mind. I don’t accept gifts from sources or potential sources. In addition, our newsroom has a code of ethics that is informed by the Society of Professional Journalists’ code, which requires journalists to seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable and transparent.
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.
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