🧵 @audacityofdespair.bsky.social and Ed Burns self-describe their work as "stand-around-and-watch" journalism, but I'd label it something like "relational" journalism or "I see you" journalism. It respects their real-life corner characters by truthfully capturing their depth and flawed humanity. 1/

My first collaboration with our Austin newsroom, and a good example of where data can help find a story. The proportion of Austin ISD students receiving dyslexia services nearly doubled in the past year to 23%, compared to 7% statewide. austincurrent.org/2026/05/04/a...

Austin ISD's preliminary proposal for addressing its budget shortfall suggests moving dedicated librarians into other support roles to save $2 million. austincurrent.org/2026/04/09/a...

...and about 75% of voucher applicants attended a private school or home-school during the 2024-25 academic year. www.texastribune.org/2026/04/01/t...

New Schools Explorer is up and running, and it literally adds a whole new dimension to the old version: time. Not to mention money (funding & spending). My hope is that this will help us all have better, more data-informed discussions about our public schools. Go explore! schools.texastribune.org

"For Austin ISD, those campuses represent potential revenue as the district works to close a growing budget gap. For the city, they represent land and money it could lose if it signs away its interest without pushing for a fair price." austincurrent.org/2026/03/26/a...

The school triggering the would-be takeover moved its students to a school operated by a charter school network founded by Mike Miles—the state appointed superintendent of Houston ISD. www.texastribune.org/2026/03/05/t...

Indianapolis, IN—here for a conference but found a place to stay a couple miles' walk from the conference hotel, half the price, and astoundingly Victorian in all directions as far as I can see

"International students typically pay significantly higher tuition than Texas residents, making their decline especially costly for public universities..." www.texastribune.org/2026/02/20/u...

Student voice: "We are so young, we think that our voice is not going to really make a change. But, seeing how all of us were gathered there that day made me feel really hopeful after a period of being really scared for my family and my friends.” austincurrent.org/2026/02/16/a...

Our Austin newsroom follows up on the school district's efforts to recoup (or try to justify) funds committed to expanding/modernizing schools now slated for closure. austincurrent.org/2026/02/05/a...

One reason Minneapolis remains in the world's eye is we have one of the most robust & independent media ecosystems remaining in the country. You all need this...and more! @mprnews.org @startribune.com @sahanjournal.bsky.social @minnesotareformer.com @minnpost.bsky.social @racketmn.com etc.

“...a stretch of river that seemed so wild that we immediately felt transported to a different time...the river clear and bright as it flowed over mussel shoals and cut deep channels around unexplored islands.”

To process the chaos, I'm spending a few minutes each night stitching a news diary--embroidering tiny icons representing an important story of the day. One month in, and it feels like I've already sewn a year's worth of news. But it helps me make sense of it all, so I think I can manage 11 more.

1.5 years and 16 cross-city walks in to being an Austinite, I feel more strongly than ever that the best way to get to know a city is to travel across it as inefficiently as possible-- on foot. I just put four more walks on the calender for the spring. If you're in town, hope you can join one!

Texas Education Agency moves to correct 4,200 errors in Bible-infused curriculum www.texastribune.org/2026/01/30/t...

NGL this description of Bsky in Vulture cracked me up

The Open Visualization Academy (OVA) IS LIVE! openvisualizationacademy.org Thread follows #dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism #dataVisualization

The Texas Tribune is dedicated to helping Texans vote. Ahead of the 2026 election, we’ve collected our voting resources on this page for you to easily find and share them with others:

Highest poverty schools were 30x+ as likely to receive a D or F from the state as lowest poverty schools. Compared to majority-white schools: majority-Black schools 4x+ as likely, Hispanic schools 2x+ www.texastribune.org/2026/01/27/t...

I'm thankful for the holiday and a beautiful day for a walk thru Austin's Black history, from early councilman Henry Madison's restored cabin...

While the e-assist did all the heavy lifting, the balance and steering was alllll me 🤗

Our local Austin newsroom officially launched today. Here's their first education story. austincurrent.org/2026/01/12/a...

Our data viz editor Chris put together a greatest hits compilation of work by Alex, Carla, Dan, Yuriko, Edison, and me in 2025. Chris's name doesn't show up in the bylines of most of these works, but he played a key role in all of them. www.texastribune.org/2025/12/29/t...

decades of Christmas: 1950s record/1960s custom built media cabinet and centralized audio distribution system/1990s wave radio/2010s turntable

The same old story about the intractability of poverty—and the uphill efforts of those who help students work past it—needs retelling in as many ways as we can. www.texastribune.org/2025/12/18/t...

"The government has restricted the collection/publication of data on its initiatives; oversight committees hold few hearings; the immigration agencies’ watchdogs have been dismantled. At this moment in history, the measuring falls to the media" link.propublica.net/view/5f0a0af... @propublica.org

Fort Worth ISD had reduced the number of F-rated schools from 31 to 11 in the two years leading up to the takeover. www.texastribune.org/2025/10/29/t...

My colleagues at the Trib put together this straightforward guide to the 17 state propositions on Tuesday's ballot in Texas. I'm finding it handy myself! www.texastribune.org/2025/09/22/t...

The 15th Annual Texas Tribune Festival full program is live! If you don't have your ticket yet, you can DM me for a secret coupon code ($30 off).

"What happens when the state’s metrics used to measure success and failure in education are fundamentally at odds with how a community views their schools?" www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/t...

I wanted to shout out to my "tireless" colleagues at the Texas Tribune reporting on the weekend's flooding, but on Monday morning it's clear that they're very tired. The reporting is insightful, the photos visceral, and the tips for how to help purposeful. www.texastribune.org/series/texas...

"Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, wondered aloud whether the Legislature was 'spending a whole lot of money to give the appearance of doing something rather than taking the problem on to actually solve it.'" www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/t...

My colleague Carla developed this nifty tool to look up how your Texas state legislators voted on some of the most significant bills this session...and see the current status of those bills. www.texastribune.org/2025/06/13/t...

From Beto to Karl Rove, John Bolton to Maureen Dowd, a former chief justice to the CEO of the Marshall Project...TribFest 2025's lineup of thought leaders is wildly eclectic. I'm really looking forward to it, and hope you can join us. festival.texastribune.org/event/c17d2d...

As we approach the close of the Texas Legislature's 2025 session, our bill tracker summarizes the status of nearly 30 of the most consequential bills, including 7 education-related bills, with hyperlinks to our latest reporting on each. www.texastribune.org/2025/05/20/t...

As a first-year staffer, I've benefited greatly from the baseline of trust the Trib built over the prior 15 years. Sharing a piece that exemplifies a colleague building trust with a new source. Check it out and consider becoming a member- no donation too small. www.texastribune.org/2025/05/08/a...

"The numbers ignore rising costs due to inflation...[and] are also based on data from the 2022-2023 school year, when school districts still had access to unprecedented amounts of temporary federal money allocated to help academic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic."

I'm looking forward to hearing my ever-insightful colleagues Jaden, Eleanor, and Matthew reflect on the numerous education bills still being deliberated in the legislature. You can join us for this free event at Austin's beautiful Central Library on June 11. trib.it/ahPqTG

I don't like to mourn such sad news in public, but I'm hoping I have a rich follower who wants to save a terrific Austin music club.

...and at almost the same time, we published an interactive tool for looking up the recently published ratings for any public school campus or district in Texas. www.texastribune.org/2025/04/24/t...

2022-23 school year data released this morning shows that school ratings declined after the state changed its rating thresholds.

Part VII of Walking Austin’s Neon Wilderness avoided busy streets in favor of a meandering residential route around Deepy Eddy- where we noticed homesteads with more to offer than the brute opulence the area is known for.

Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin! Get tickets before May 1 and save big. Discounts available for members, students and educators. trib.it/tribfest2025... #TribFest25

Aside from the Schools Explorer, one of my other primary responsibilities at the Tribune is maintaining our Government Salaries Explorer. This morning we posted our quarterly update including state comptroller data from April 1. salaries.texastribune.org

Our Schools Explorer lets you look up demographics, graduation rates, teacher experience, SAT scores and more for any school district or campus in Texas. Updated for the first time in two years to include the latest available data. schools.texastribune.org

The DoE, which may soon be dismantled, had compelled Texas in 2018 to reevaluate students denied special education services because of a cap set by the state to reduce special education costs. www.texastribune.org/2025/04/07/e...

Our school funding explainer and my first proper co-byline provides context around the state's role in funding schools and why many schools are struggling to balance the books. Check out Yuriko's interactive district lookup to see how your school is funded. www.texastribune.org/2025/03/28/t...

Abbott: "...we've been spending countless dollars of American money and not getting results..." Capo: "It has been the only governmental entity holding his administration accountable for guaranteeing parents’ and students’ rights to a free and fair education." www.texastribune.org/2025/03/20/t...