If you have a student or teacher in your family, or know someone who is a student, teacher, school bus driver, or works in a school district or field of education, you have experienced the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. When youth education is affected, so are our communities.

A recent report by McKinsey & Company, a trusted research and consulting firm, found that the educational impact of COVID-19 is having knock-on effects for families, health and local economies. The ripple effect could have long-term implications for all of her 18 cities and her 800,000 residents in Snohomish County.

Based on The Daily Herald’s recent community survey and feedback we’ve heard through our hosted conversations, residents can learn what’s happening in their education, what’s working and what’s not. Without information about the challenges facing K-12 education and possible solutions, it is difficult to make informed decisions and take action.

The Daily Herald is a leading source of news, sports and other information in Snohomish County, but for years it has not had the resources to staff a reporter devoted to the educational beat. We expected community reporters to lag behind, but in a county with 15 public school districts (small to rural, large to urban) and dozens of private schools, , a dedicated reporter rather than a piecemeal approach to reporting such an important beat.

The Daily Herald has been selected to participate in the Report for America program for our community in need of more information on K-12 education. Report for America is a national service program that places emerging journalists in communities with coverage gaps that local newspapers alone cannot fill.

Through the Report for America program, Herald hired Mallory Gruben. He began covering educational beats in his June. The Herald News Since joining his team, Gruben has delivered stories that otherwise couldn’t have been told. She reported on a new law requiring school districts to add mental health as a reason for absence, the impact of failing to meet two levies on Marysville education, the impact of the pandemic on students, and staff shortages. , more.

Gruben also encourages conversation and connection. She’s been out in our community talking to school district superintendents, school board members, educators, parents, and students. She told me that she handed out her business cards along with invitations to talk about her education over coffee.

Mallory Gruben

As part of the Report for America program, Gruben is required to provide community service outside of normal business hours. Her Ideal Volunteer Her project is for middle school students to learn the basics of journalism and ignite her passion for reporting in the community.

The Report for America program not only gives local newspapers the opportunity to hire emerging journalists, it also helps raise funds. The program pays a portion of the salaries of its members and asks the community to come up with the rest. Report for America believes communities should invest in local journalism that benefits them.

The entire community needs to raise approximately $62,000 to fund the Report for America challenge of investing in local education. This will fund work on Gruben’s educational beat through May 2023. However, the need for educational reporting will continue beyond that, requiring ongoing funding for philanthropy.

When individuals, businesses and foundations stand up to support community journalism, we all support the well-being of our communities. Now that K-12 education is back in full swing, it’s the perfect time for all of us to contribute to the work of shining a light on education. It’s a way for people working on education challenges, solutions, and for all of us to participate.

To donate now, visit heraldnet.com/education-project-fund.

Thank you very much.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our first Community Conversation with Executive Editor Phil O’Connor in August. Local welcomes your candid opinion on his journalism. If you’d like to join him for his next online Community Conversation on September 29th from 11:30am to 12:15pm, register now at heraldnet.com/conversation-september.

Brenda Mann Harrison is the Journalism Development Director for The Daily Herald. She writes “Local News Impact” to raise awareness of how the community is supported. Journalism benefits Snohomish County. For more information, please donate now. You can contact Brenda at heraldnet.com/local-news-impact. brenda.harrison@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3452.Daily Herald says: Editorial control of content created with resources from journalism foundations.