Illuminating Journalism from American Public Media
  • Investigations
  • Documentaries
  • Podcasts
  • About
  • Donate
    • At a Loss for Words

    How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers

    Enemy of Public Schools

    How one man has spent 25 years thwarting bond money for rural districts

    Minnesota county sending at-risk kids to other states despite concerns about care

    Featured Documentaries

    APM Reports has produced more than 140 audio documentaries on topics such as health, history, education and justice.

    •  
      Students on the Move

      Keeping uprooted kids in school

    • Under a Watchful Eye
      Under a Watchful Eye

      How colleges are tracking students to boost graduation

    •  
      Hard Words

      Why aren't kids being taught to read?

    •  
      Old Idea, New Economy

      Rediscovering Apprenticeships

    • Mario Martinez
      Still Rising

      First-generation college students a decade later

    •  
      Changing Class

      Are colleges helping Americans move up?

    Be informed: Get notified when APM Reports publishes new stories.

    The Educate Podcast

    • umnbridge

      How colleges are mishandling racial tensions on campus

      September 12
    • LSUenrollmentgap

      Flagship universities don't reflect their state's diversity

      September 5
    • Paul Dorr

      How one man has spent 25 years thwarting bond money for rural districts

      August 29
    • US-EDUCATION-COLUMBIA-COMMENCEMENT

      Tens of thousands of dollars later, most college grads say the degree was worth it

      March 11

    Recent Stories

    In the Dark, Season 2

    The latest updates on the Curtis Flowers case

    Flowers is still on death row at Parchman prison. He won't be transferred to pretrial detention at a local jail until the Mississippi Department of Corrections receives orders to do so.

    Paul Dorr

    How one man has spent 25 years thwarting bond money for rural districts

    by Alex Baumhardt

    Paul Dorr is a master of tactics to defeat referendums intended to finance public schools. He believes schools run by government steer kids away from Christianity. His campaigns — most of them in the Midwest — have also created lingering bitterness within communities.

    Mesabi Academy

    Minnesota county sending at-risk kids to other states despite concerns about care

    by Curtis Gilbert and Tom Scheck

    With its preferred juvenile correctional facility closed, Hennepin County has increased out-of-state placements 42 percent and some kids are landing in places with troubled histories.

    Caroline Mattson, Hibbing, Minnesota

    Reverberations still felt after Mesabi's closure

    by Curtis Gilbert and Tom Scheck

    • Legal settlement nears • Some former residents are in jail or charged with crimes • Whistleblower has no regrets • The state changes how it regulates juvenile facilities • Buhl can't find a buyer for the building KidsPeace left behind

     

    How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers

    by Emily Hanford

    For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't know there's anything wrong with it.

    First Place Scholars school in Seattle

    The growing crisis of homeless kids

    by Chris Julin

    They sleep in cars, motels and relatives' houses, and they're more likely to drop out of school and spend their lives in poverty. Due to the lack of affordable housing, the U.S. has more of these children than ever before.

    North Dakota farm field

    The children in the fields

    Thanks to a loophole in U.S. child labor laws, farmworker kids can pick crops as young as age 10. But education offers a path out of poverty, if the kids can stay in school.

     

    Colleges are using big data to track students in an effort to boost graduation rates, but it comes at a cost

    by Sasha Aslanian and Jill Barshay

    At Georgia State in Atlanta, more students are graduating, and the school credits its use of predictive analytics. But critics worry that the algorithms may be invading students' privacy and reinforcing racial inequities.

    Clemmie Fleming

    Clemmie Fleming becomes second major witness to recant in Curtis Flowers case

    by Parker Yesko

    She says she felt pressured to testify against Curtis Flowers in all six trials.

    Willie James Hemphill

    Where was Willie James Hemphill on the morning of the Tardy murders?

    by Parker Yesko

    His alibi didn't check out.

    Willie James Hemphill mugshots

    Willie James Hemphill's long criminal record

    by Parker Yesko and Dave Mann

    During nearly 30 years of crimes, he's shown a quick temper, and a penchant for daytime robberies and violence against women.

    Clemmie Fleming

    S2 E15: Revelations

    It's been 11 days since the U.S. Supreme Court threw out Curtis Flowers' conviction. And the story has taken yet more surprising turns since. In recent days, there have been three other significant developments, including new details from a key witness, that may change Flowers' fate.

    • Investigations
    • Documentaries
    • Podcasts
    • About
    • Donate
    • © 2019 Minnesota Public Radio. All Rights Reserved.
    •  
    • Terms and Conditions
    •  
    • Privacy Policy