Safura Syed was a newsroom fellow at Verite News in New Orleans before continuing as an education reporter through Report for America. During first year at Verite News, Syed reported on environmental justice issues and energy sustainability. Born and raised in Metro Detroit, Syed covered health and culture stories in the city as an intern for WDIV, the local NBC affiliate. Syed’s journalism career started in high school and continued into college at the University of Michigan’s student newspaper, The Michigan Daily, where she was an editor. Syed holds a bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology and creative writing.
Beat: Education beat reporter
Twenty years ago, New Orleans embarked on a radical experiment: turning over an entire urban school district to private charter operators. The education reporter will examine how, decades in, this shift has hurt or benefitted New Orleans students, parents and school employees. Along with those broader issues, the reporter will cover what is happening on the ground in the city's schools, regularly reporting on meetings of the city's school board and its many charter boards.