A self-described angry mom who ran for office and sends her kids to NYC public schools, Danyela Souza Egorov is now a fellow at the Manhattan Institute whose work often appears in City Journal.
“I was one of those very angry moms,” says Egorov in this new interview. “And that’s what really got me into writing because I was very frustrated with the coverage of public schools during COVID.”
Asked her thoughts about NYC schools coverage, think the main problem she identifies is quantity. “New York City Department of Education represents 40 % of the budget of the city,” notes Egorov.
“If journalists are not asking at least one fourth of their questions about education, they are not doing their job.”
Watch or read the transcript above or on YouTube. Listen to it on Spotify or Apple.
When schools do get covered, the focus isn’t on fundamental issues like spending increases or whether kids can read or do math. Instead it’s often about upper-middle-class issues that impact only a tiny number of students like gifted and talented education or specialized high schools.
“Most of the discussion is in this area. So we have very little journalism about education in New York.”
She’s glad to see more coverage of the school class size law, which is both a big budget item and affects large numbers of students. But otherwise she’s critical of most of what she sees.
“I think the New York Times has had so much focus on gifted and talented and how these schools are racially segregated,” says Egorov. “I mean, that has been their main point of coverage for some time.”
In terms of traditional journalists, she’s a fan of Susan Edelman. On the non-traditional side, she likes a new podcast called Schooled: Inside the Nation’s Largest School District that’s produced by parent advocates Deborah Alexander, Yiatin Chu, and Josh Cross.
Unlike many people I talk to, Egorov is aware that her critique is based on her sense of what’s most important. “There are other people who might tell you that there are different problems in New York City public schools.”
However, she says that so much of what goes on in schools isn’t known publicly. Parents might complain — they might even sue. But they don’t want media attention.
“What you see in the newspapers is the tip of the iceberg.”
You can also follow her at @dany_egorov.
Previously from The Grade
Boosting the impact of New York City schools coverage (David Bloomfield)
The journalist who started out as an angry mom (Trish Powell Crain)
Inadequate literacy coverage in New York City (Lee Gaul)
Why’s a Georgetown economist covering Montgomery County schools? (Nora Gordon)
A reporter reflects on 8 years covering NYC schools (Ben Chapman)
Parents, school closures, & media coverage (Vernée Wilkinson)
Student voices missing in coverage of NYC specialized schools debate
