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Senior editor for investigations

Sarah Butrymowicz

Sarah Butrymowicz is senior editor for investigations. For her first four years at The Hechinger Report, she was a staff writer, covering k-12 education, traveling the country and developing an affinity for rural America. She then fell in love with spreadsheets and statistics and served as data editor for two years. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, as well as on Time.com and NBCNews.com. She was the winner of the 2012 New York Press Club’s Nellie Bly Cub Reporter Award. Before receiving a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and an M.S. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, she attended public schools in Connecticut, where she had a tendency to go overboard on school projects. Her family still talks about her sixth grade haunted house project in hushed, reverent tones.

Recent Stories

“Tired of fighting that fight”: School districts’ uphill battle to get good deals on ed tech

Would price transparency keep districts from spending more than they have to?

K-12

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  and  Tara García Mathewson  – March 26, 2018

Morgane Le Bris, principal of École Mur de Bretagne juggles a class of 27 students and two different grade levels. She wishes she had more money to hire teachers to reduce class size.

This country spends billions on private schools — and has a terrible learning gap between poor and wealthy

In practice, most low-income students can only pick between their local public schools, which many say are under-resourced, and cheaper private schools, which face their own budget challenges.

K-12

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  – March 1, 2018

Vibyskolan, a small, nonprofit free school that serves kindergarten through ninth grade, is located in a wealthy area just north of Stockholm, where free schools are particularly popular.

Betsy DeVos’ school choice ideas are a reality in Sweden, where student performance has suffered

Critics say loose accountability is a problem

K-12

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  – February 28, 2018

Children play outside during recess at Hokitika Primary School. Last year, the school lost 10 students to a nearby, more affluent school.

What would actually happen if we gave all parents the chance to pick their children’s schools?

New Zealand’s history of school choice offers some lessons

K-12

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  – February 20, 2018

Peter O'Halloran checks supplies at his job. O'Halloran works full-time at a nonprofit in Philadelphia.

The ‘forgotten’ part of special education that could lead to better outcomes for students

Many former special education students struggle to find good-paying jobs, and high schools are partly to blame

High School Reform

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  and  Jackie Mader  – December 16, 2017

A special education student at South Hills High School takes an online quiz about RNA. The district’s reforms to special education have included making sure students use the same textbooks as their general education peers.

How one district solved its special education dropout problem

Efforts to remove the stigma for students with disabilities have paid off

High School Reform

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  – November 18, 2017

Mark Nelson poses for a photo at Citrus College in Glendora, California.

Low academic expectations and poor support for special education students are ‘hurting their future’

Being challenged yet supported in class proves elusive for many students with disabilities

High School Reform

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  and  Jackie Mader  – November 11, 2017

Adam Salomon at his high school graduation. Salomon’s mother, Karen, says he was not prepared for life after high school.

The vast majority of students with disabilities don’t get a college degree

How better soft skills might boost low college persistence and employment rates

High School Reform

by  Jackie Mader  and  Sarah Butrymowicz  – November 11, 2017

Michael McLaughlin and his mother, Michelle, at Michael’s 2013 graduation. Michelle McLaughlin said Michael’s education did not prepare him for college or career.

Almost all students with disabilities are capable of graduating on time. Here’s why they’re not.

U.S. education system is failing students with special needs.

High School Reform

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  and  Jackie Mader  – November 4, 2017

DEBT WITHOUT DEGREE: State cuts money to higher education while student costs skyrocket

Gaps in financial aid make the problem worse

Higher Education

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  and  Meredith Kolodner  – August 11, 2017

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