Public Education Matters

For an entire school year, two Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer reporters had unprecedented access to the classrooms, students, and educators in a Cleveland Metropolitan School District elementary school without publishing a word. What has followed is a groundbreaking series of stories that have revealed to the world some universal truths about humanity and education in general, which we see in districts across the state. The two reporters, Hannah Drown and Cameron Barker, join this episode of the podcast to discuss their work and their experiences. 

• Hannah Drown, Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer reporter
  • Hannah Drown has been with The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com since 2014. During her five years as the Facebook Live news reporter, she covered breaking news, crime, entertainment and a number of other topics through on-the-scene broadcast reporting. Prior, she worked on the Cleveland’s Best team and launched a gluten-free lifestyle column.
• Cameron Fields, Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer reporter
  • Cameron Fields has written for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer since 2020, when he started as a general assignment reporter covering COVID-19, business, social justice and community news, among other topics. He graduated from Ohio University in 2019, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism. 

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• The Ohio Education Association represents about 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit students, schools, and the public in virtually every position needed to run Ohio’s schools.
• Education Matters host Katie Olmsted serves as Media Relations Consultant for the Ohio Education Association. She joined OEA in May 2020, after a ten-year career as an Emmy Award winning television reporter, anchor, and producer. Katie comes from a family of educators and is passionate about telling educators' stories and advocating for Ohio's students. She lives in Central Ohio with her husband and two young children.