How  Data  Empowers  You  Dianna  Hunt  

Watchdog/News  Editor  The  Daily  Adver;ser  

Lafaye>e,  La.  

dhunt@theadver;ser.com  

Facing  your  Fears  •  Numbers/data  add  credibility  to  your  repor;ng  

•  Anecdotes  tell  the  human  element;  numbers  back  up  the  anecdotes  

•  Anyone  who  can  add  and  subtract  can  use  numbers  effec;vely  in  a  story  

•  Percentages  are  nice,  too  

Wri;ng  with  Authority  New  policy,  rise  in  arrests  lead  to  concerns  

about  school  safety  By  Amanda  McElfresh  

amcelfresh@theadver;ser.com              In  her  20  years  of  teaching  in  the  Lafaye>e  Parish  School  

System,  Nancy  Romero  has  seen  fights,  handled  disciplinary  problems  and  been  one  of  the  area's  most  vocal  proponents  of  safety  on  school  campuses.  

This  year,  though,  something  is  different,  Romero  says.  Teachers  are  not  necessarily  more  afraid  of  their  students,  

but  there's  a  tense,  uneasy  feeling  on  school  grounds  that  a  discipline  problem  could  erupt  at  any  ;me.  

"Most  teachers  are  feeling  the  campuses  are  not  as  safe  for  students  or  for  teachers  as  they  have  been  in  the  past,"  Romero  said.  "They  don't  feel  that  things  are  being  done  or  preventa;ve  measures  are  being  taken  that  would  stop  it  before  it  starts.  It's  a  heightened  awareness  that  things  are  going  on.”    

Photo  by  flickr  user  Tony  Margiocchi  

Wri;ng  with  Authority  New  policy,  rise  in  arrests  lead  to  concerns  

about  school  safety  (con<nued)  By  Amanda  McElfresh  

amcelfresh@theadver;ser.com    Lafaye?e  school  arrest  records  appear  to  support  teachers'  concerns.  

Since  a  new  disciplinary  policy  went  into  effect  this  year  making  it  more  difficult  to  throw  problem  students  off  campus,  arrests  at  school  have  soared  more  than  51  percent,  par<cularly  in  middle  schools,  according  to  arrest  records  analyzed  by  The  Daily  Adver<ser.  

         In  October  alone,  10  arrests  were  made  for  ba?ery  of  a  teacher,  and  two  for  aggravated  assault.  Disturbing  the  peace  was  the  most  common  reason  for  arrest,  with  41  instances,  and  arrests  for  simple  ba?ery  trailed  in  second  place  with  14.  

         Carencro  schools  saw  a  similar  rise,  par<cularly  at  Carencro  Middle  School  where  26  arrests  were  made  this  year  —  five  <mes  more  than  last  year.  

         Carencro  Police  Chief  Carlos  Stout  said  officers  assigned  to  schools  do  as  much  as  they  can  to  maintain  order  on  campus.  But  he  said  students  should  suffer  the  consequences  for  causing  trouble.      

Photo  by  flickr  user  Tony  Margiocchi  

Backing  up  your  anecdotes  'Enough  is  enough':  Teachers  leaving  

classrooms  in  droves  By  Amanda  McElfresh  

amcelfresh@theadver;ser.com    Edward  Gauthier  spent  more  than  three  decades  teaching  

in  Louisiana  public  schools,  including  16  years  at  Carencro  High  School  teaching  special  educa;on,  English  and  computer  science.  

He  could  have  re;red  in  2009,  but  he  was  having  so  much  fun  teaching  and  learning  alongside  his  students  that  he  stayed  in  the  classroom.  

Then  came  changes  in  the  state  educa;onal  system  that  cut  his  promised  monthly  re;rement  income,  and  Gauthier  began  to  worry  that  his  re;rement  would  be  gone  before  he  could  ever  take  it.  

"I  took  some  of  this  news  hard,"  he  said,  "and  my  feelings  were,  'I  give  my  life  to  train  other  people's  kids  to  go  to  college  and  the  state  rewards  me  with  a  salary  that  won't  let  MY  sons  go  to  college.'"  

He  re;red  last  June.  

Photo  by  flickr  user  audio-­‐luci-­‐store.it  

Backing  up  your  anecdotes  'Enough  is  enough':  Teachers  leaving  

classrooms  in  droves  (con<nued)  By  Amanda  McElfresh  

amcelfresh@theadver;ser.com    'I  figured  I  had  a  few  more  years  le`  in  me,  but  when  I  

learned  of  (Gov.  Bobby)  Jindal's  ideas,  I  got  nervous,"  he  said.  

Gauthier  is  not  alone.  A  Daily  Adver<ser  analysis  of  teacher  re<rements  and  resigna<ons  the  past  two  school  years  shows  that  teachers  are  leaving  the  Lafaye?e  Parish  School  System  even  faster  than  they  are  leaving  the  classroom  statewide.  

From  August  through  January,  teacher  resigna<ons  have  nearly  tripled  in  the  Lafaye?e  Parish  School  System,  from  29  to  102.  

Re<rements  more  than  doubled  during  that  period,  from  19  to  41.  

The  large  number  of  departures  come  amid  dras<c  changes  in  public  educa<on  at  the  state  and  local  levels,  including  statewide  changes  in  the  way  teachers  are  evaluated;  reduced  re<rement  benefits;  and  a  shi^ing  focus  to  private  school  vouchers.  

Photo  by  flickr  user  audio-­‐luci-­‐store.it  

Excerpt:    By  Claire  Taylor    Local  judges  spent  nearly  $900,000  in  public  funds  in  five  years  for  such  expenses  as  fish  tanks,  handmade  judicial  robes,  a  concealed  gun  permit  and  conferences  at  the  beach.    A  review  of  judicial  expense  accounts  by  The  Daily  Adver;ser  found  local  judges  charged  to  eat,  drive,  dress,  travel  and  decorate  their  offices  between  2008  and  2012  –  and  even  to  hang  their  portraits  on  the  courthouse  walls.  

Finding  the  right  numbers  •  What’s  the  total?  •  How  much  have  they  increased?  

•  What  areas  have  seen  growth  or  decline?  

•  Which  areas  are  growing  fastest?  

•  How  much  did  it  cost?   Photo  by  flickr  user  Zach  K  

Where  to  look  

•  Use  FOIA  laws  to  ask  for  what  you  want  

•  Audits  •  990  forms  for  nonprofits  

•  Budgets  •  Government  reports  

Audits/Annual  Reports  

•  Look  for  the  summary  at  the  end  •  Look  for  no;ces  of  li;ga;on,  problems,  shornalls  

•  Look  for  any  plans/recommenda;ons  for  correc;ng  the  problem  

•  Some;mes  you’ll  see  no;ce  of  criminal  inves;ga;ons  

Percentage  change  Do  journalists  like  to  do  math?  

   

                                                       NOO!      

Formula:  (New-­‐Old)/Old=  Move  decimal  2  places  to  right.  

   

Image  by  Flickr  user  krossbow  

Grit  your  teeth  and  give  it  a  try:  calculate  this  %age  

•  If  100  people  le`  the  school  district  last  year,  and  150  le`  the  school  district  this  year,  how  much  did  resigna;ons  increase?  

•  Subtract  100  from  150.  The  difference  is  50.  Divide  50  by  100.  Move  the  decimal  over  two  spaces  to  the  right  to  change  the  number  to  a  percentage.  

•  There  was  a  50  percent  increase.  

   150  -­‐  100  -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐          50  

50  /  100  =  .50  *  Photo  by  flickr  user  Jenn  Durfey    

Talk  to  People  •  Numbers  are  not  the  story.  

Numbers  are  the  beginning  of  the  story.  

•  Talk  to  real  people,  get  real  anecdotes  to  bring  those  numbers  to  life  

•  Use  the  numbers  to  support  your  anecdotes  

•  Anecdotes  without  numbers  make  a  good  story  

•  Anecdotes  with  numbers  make  a  powerful  story  

Photo  by  flickr  user  Eternos  Indicadores  

Ques;ons?  Thanks  for  listening!  

Dianna  Hunt  

Watchdog/News  editor  

The  Daily  Adver;ser  

Lafaye>e,  La.  

dhunt@theadver;ser.com  

Twi>er:  @diannahunt  

 

 

Photo  by  Flickr  user  Xurble