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Deputy Editor Sarah Karp and Data & Research Editor John Myers have won first place in the Education Writers Association’s 2009 National Awards for Education Reporting, the country’s most prestigious competition for education journalism. Karp and Myers won for “Reaching Black Boys,” our May/June 2009 issue of In Depth, which reported on the widespread use of harsh discipline against African-American boys in Chicago Public Schools, and the impact on their education. Karp and Myers won in the special interest/trade publication category. Scott Stephens, from our sister publication Catalyst Ohio, won a second-place prize in the beat reporting category.

Associate Editor Sarah Karp, an award-winning investigative reporter and the parent of three children, two in Chicago Public Schools, has been promoted to Deputy Editor. Along with reporting and writing, her new duties will include assisting with editorial oversight of In Depth and The Notebook.

In addition, Associate Editor Debra Williams has been named to the new post of Community Editor. In that job, she will serve as a liaison between Catalyst and grass-roots organizations and help develop new ways to better serve their education needs and bring their voices into the dialogue about education improvement.