Passing the Test, Monroe, LA 2001

Partners:

The News-Star, newsstar.com
Louisiana Tech University
Grambling State University
SPJ Lincoln Collegiate Chapter

The paper used civic mapping to explore why more than a quarter of Monroe’s fourth- and eighth-grade public school students had failed high-stakes state math and reading tests. The project generated an outpouring of community help for local schools.

The News Star focused on five Monroe public schools for its mapping effort and partnered with the journalism schools at Louisiana Tech and Grambling to recruit the manpower needed to explore the five communities. Teams of one reporter and two students went into the community, meeting with teachers, administrators and parents and walking the streets to find “third places” outside the schools themselves.

The paper published a special section May 6, 2001, detailing the plight of high-risk students in the five schools and the challenges they face to be able to pass the state tests. A follow-up town meeting attracted 150 people to discuss solutions. Additionally, the paper established a hotline for readers who wanted to help. The response was immediate. All five schools reported receiving new levels of volunteer support.

At one school, local businesses donated $150 for a science lab as well as 350 notebooks for students. Another received dictionaries, supplies and materials from a businessman in the community. The Monroe Fire Department built a playground at another. And the community itself began organizing meetings to generate support for students.

In addition, the journalism students involved in the project got first-hand experience and training in civic journalism. The project included special training sessions for them, including an April beat-development session at Grambling that featured education professors and experts in childhood development.

Contact:

Kathy Spurlock
Executive Editor
The News-Star
411 N. Fourth St.
Monroe, LA 71210-8002
Phone: (318) 362-0261
Email: kspurlock@thenewsstar.com