Sarah Darville, the acting bureau chief at NYChalkbeat.org, has both good and bad things to say about the education system in New York City. The news site focuses on educational issues in a number of states, but Darville works in the New York sector, writing solely about issues in the New York region.
Chalkbeat, Darville explains, is unlike most news sources. The non-profit organization has less of a focus on current news stories, choosing instead to focus on important long-lasting issues solely within the education system. Darville recognizes that Chalkbeat isn’t the source that most people would choose to go to for updates on current events, and that many people remain oblivious to the website’s existence; however, she doesn’t mind – Darville knows that Chalkbeat is important and impactful for those who are interested in what is happening with the education system, such as teachers, parents, students and anybody else who shows a particular interest in the matter.
Darville herself has spent a number of years working in journalism, having run her newspaper at Columbia, written for the Daily News, and worked on the Neiman Journal at Harvard.
Working at Chalkbeat, however, has proven itself to be an experience unlike any other Darville has previously had. She explains to a group of students that, “Chalkbeat is not a typical business. It’s run a little bit differently than other news organizations.” Darville also adds that because it is a non-profit organization she no longer has to fear being fired, which is quite comforting.
In discussing a number of her pieces, Darville makes an interesting observation that has guided her through one of her recent pieces about the principal at a Brooklyn charter school. She notices that there is a great amount of information that is readily available online, which a number of people seem blissfully unaware of.
Darville is especially proud of a recent piece of hers about a Brooklyn principal, whose résumé stated that he had previously worked as a Presidential advisor, and had been principal at a number of schools. Nearly everything on the résumé proved to be untrue, and Darville noticed that he received the job as principal despite the fact that simply Google-searching his name revealed this. Darville mentioned that it took her “ten minutes” to find all the information on him that she needed to write her article. She began to wonder why nobody had bothered to cross-reference his application.
She was also shocked to discover that the Brooklyn principal did not lose his job after being exposed in her article. Yet again, nobody on the board seemed to show any interest in the situation, although numerous parents were complaining. Situations such as these appeal to Darville: the ones that are shocking, confusing, or simply interesting. Darville is also adamant in noting that, “We write about good things too!” and that Chalkbeat also recognizes teachers or schools that have done good things.
There are both good and bad aspects of the education system, and Darville plans to address them all.