Dear Reader,

At The Hechinger Report, we began our in-depth coverage of teaching and learning eight years ago, at a time when high-quality education coverage had been disappearing from struggling news outlets.

We quickly became more than a backstop for existing news institutions. By establishing our expertise in covering the education issues that matter most, we made a name for ourselves as an important, independent journalistic enterprise. Never beholden to local owners or interests, we've been free to pursue deeply intricate stories on innovation and inequality “without fear or favor,” as a long-ago publisher of The New York Times once said.

That's why we adopted this list of values — to be transparent about what we're pursuing and give reporters a mandate to pursue our mission.

We seek to:

• Report the facts.
• Delve into the details.
• Protect children.
• Tell education stories from the classrooms and campuses where they're unfolding.
• Hold educational institutions and government agencies accountable.
• Look for solutions to the lack of equitable educational opportunities for black, brown and poor children.
• Partner with local and national news organizations to improve their coverage by offering expert education reporting and data analysis at no cost.
• As an independently funded division of Teachers College, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we pursue our mission without having to deliver returns to investors.

Do you support the work we're doing?