"Education reform is finally considered a conventional issue and is reported daily by journalists," said Allen, "The more objective and accurate the reporting, the more clearly the issues are discussed by parents, teachers, administrators, business and community leaders, and legislators, to help improve the quality of education offered to our children."

        The winners for the Center for Education Reform’s 1997 Excellence in Journalism Awards are:

First Place: "Vouchers may have kept some families in Baltimore," by Mark Tapscott, Montgomery Journal

First Place: "Private Goals vs. Public Good," by Jodi Mailander-Farrell, The Miami Herald

Honorable Mention: "Choice in Milwaukee," by Bob Beasley, This Week in Upper Arlington (OH)

First Place: "Don’t Settle for Less in Parish Classrooms, " by Lisa P. Elliott, The Courier (AL)

First Place: "The Dumbing Down of America," by Carol Innerst, The Washington Times

         The Center for Education Reform is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1993 to provide support and guidance to individuals, civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. In short, the Center for Education Reform builds bridges between policy and practice to ensure that ideas critical to the future of education in the United States are advanced, understood, and implemented and distinguishes itself from "think tanks" by serving as an active broker for change. 

        Entries to the 1997 Excellence in Journalism Awards included articles on: standards and testing, accountability, school finance, school choice, privatization, entrepreneurial activity, local school board policy, teacher competency, reform activism, etc. With over 200 entries submitted this year alone, winners included journalists writing for The Miami Herald and The Washington Times on subjects ranging from charter schools to school choice, from federal education policy to state-level judicial actions, to local special education issues, and from standards and assessments to curriculum reform.

        "CER’s Excellence in Journalism Awards strives to acknowledge reporting on education reform issues," concluded Allen.