Larry Abramson
Larry Abramson is NPR's National Security Correspondent. He covers the Pentagon, as well as issues relating to the thousands of vets returning home from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Prior to his current role, Abramson was NPR's Education Correspondent covering a wide variety of issues related to education, from federal policy to testing to instructional techniques in the classroom. His reporting focused on the impact of for-profit colleges and universities, and on the role of technology in the classroom. He made a number of trips to New Orleans to chart the progress of school reform there since Hurricane Katrina. Abramson also covers a variety of news stories beyond the education beat.
In 2006, Abramson returned to the education beat after spending nine years covering national security and technology issues for NPR. Since 9/11, Abramson has covered telecommunications regulation, computer privacy, legal issues in cyberspace, and legal issues related to the war on terrorism.
During the late 1990s, Abramson was involved in several special projects related to education. He followed the efforts of a school in Fairfax County, Virginia, to include severely disabled students in regular classroom settings. He joined the National Desk reporting staff in 1997.
For seven years prior to his position as a reporter on the National Desk, Abramson was senior editor for NPR's National Desk. His department was responsible for approximately 25 staff reporters across the United States, five editors in Washington, and news bureaus in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. The National Desk also coordinated domestic news coverage with news departments at many of NPR's member stations. The desk doubled in size during Abramson's tenure. He oversaw the development of specialized beats in general business, high-technology, workplace issues, small business, education, and criminal justice.
Abramson joined NPR in 1985 as a production assistant with Morning Edition. He moved to the National Desk, where he served for two years as Western editor. From there, he became the deputy science editor with NPR's Science Unit, where he helped win a duPont-Columbia Award as editor of a special series on Black Americans and AIDS.
Prior to his work at NPR, Abramson was a freelance reporter in San Francisco and worked with Voice of America in California and in Washington, D.C.
He has a master's degree in comparative literature from the University of California at Berkeley. Abramson also studied overseas at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and at the Free University in Berlin, Germany.
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After months of delay, the Department of Education issued new rules Thursday that could shut down some for-profit colleges and universities. The department says the regulations are meant to cut off federal aid to schools whose students cannot earn enough to repay their loans. The administration softened the rules in response to industry pressure.
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The Detroit Public School system hopes to convert dozens of schools into charters in the next year or so in a last-ditch effort to cut costs and stop plummeting enrollment. The plan faces tremendous skepticism from a generation of parents and teachers frustrated from previous reform efforts. -
At Finance Park, eighth-graders are playing grown-ups — for class credit. The park is a real world mock-up where schools bring kids to learn financial literacy. The teens shop for groceries, buy cars at the dealership, even pick cable plans at a faux Verizon Store — all while trying to stay on a budget. -
The use of service animals has been growing among children with autism-related disorders, and schools have been fielding more requests to allow them. But some districts worry the animals may violate the rights of other students and staff. Families hope new federal guidelines will help them avoid legal battles over their animals.
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A recent gift to Florida State University is once again raising questions about what kinds of strings donors can attach to their gifts. Big donors say they are just trying to ensure that universities expand their research, but many faculty members feel that schools strapped for money are agreeing to unacceptable conditions.
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Education reform advocates say many teacher preparation programs provide poor training. So a national organization is conducting a review of these programs to be published in U.S. °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ and World Report. But many education schools are opting out, saying they question the methodology.
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Indiana recently approved one of the country's most extensive school voucher programs. That move has reinvigorated the debate over education vouchers; while some hope Indiana's move will push other states to follow suit, others are fighting to rein in expansion. -
Best-selling author Greg Mortenson has been defending himself against accusations that his homegrown charity may have misspent public donations. A recent article and 60 Minutes story allege the author of Three Cups of Tea used those donations to help hawk his books. While the accusations have not been proven, the shock waves are already hitting his charity, and the non-profit world in general.
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Ohio Gov. John Kasich has ordered state universities to develop ways for students to get a bachelor's degree in three years. The hope is that it will help save students money and get them into the job market more quickly. But one expert says it shouldn't be called a bachelor's degree.
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The JUCONI Foundation, an organization that aims to help struggling families with everything from nutrition to emotional health, works long-term with families in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
