Educational Storytelling

From 2004 to 2008, I was on a team of writers that were embedded in urban high schools around Ohio as major reforms were implemented. We built relationships with teachers, administrators and students in order to write engagingly and authentically about the people, policies and process for annual publications. Each of these projects won international communications awards from the Council on Foundations.

In subsequent years, I spent time in laboratory schools, as well as interviewing students and administrators throughout Ohio about various school reform initiatives. A 2010 web-based project on Early College High School graduates also earned an award from the Council on Foundations.

Fast Track: Ohio’s Early College High Schools Set a Pace for Early Success
This group project about Ohio ECHS graduates experience on college campuses has been awarded a 2011 Silver award for Excellence in Communications from the Council on Foundations (Electronic Publications category). TZT contributed the pieces about Adairia, Terrance, Paul, Brandon and Kiani.

From First Day to First Graduates: Educators fight to keep their dreams alive as they introduce small schools in a hard-hit urban district
Four years of observation at Columbus’ Brookhaven High School as it struggled to implement significant reform culminated with this publication, which received a 2009 Gold award for excellence from the Council on Foundations.

To a Higher Degree: Real-life stories of progress in four early college high schools and Most Likely to Succeed: Real-life stories of progress in five redesigned urban high schools
There are two pieces in each of these two publications that were written by TZT, who spent the 2006-2007 school year observing at both Brookhaven High School and Africentric Early College High School. These publications won a 2008 silver award for excellence from the Council on Foundations.

Small Moments, Big Dreams: Real-life stories from five redesigned urban high schools After observing for the first two years at Brookhaven High School, this publication was released in 2006. It won a 2007 Silver Award for excellence from the Council on Foundations.