Natalie La Roche Pietri
Education ReporterNatalie La Roche Pietri is the education reporter at WLRN.
Before joining WLRN, Natalie interned at the Boston Globe on the Great Divide, a team dedicated to investigating race, class, and inequality in Boston-area schools.
She covered general news as an intern at the Miami Herald, and reported on camera covering politics in Washington, D.C, as an NBCU Academy Diversity, Equity and Inclusion fellow.
Natalie graduated from Florida International University with a double major in digital communications and English. She was the managing editor for Caplin News, a student media digital publication at FIU, and president of the Society of Professional Journalists at FIU.
Originally from Venezuela, Natalie grew up in Broward and speaks fluent Spanish. You can reach her at nlarochep@wlrnnews.org and follow her on X at @natalaroche.
-
FIU student journalist from Venezuela recounts heartbreaking loss of 5 family members in earthquakesAlejandro Marquina tells WLRN how he first learned of the twin earthquakes that devastated his native Venezuela in June. The earthquakes claimed the lives of five family members. -
He compared last year's decline to Hurricane Andrew — it was "the perfect storm" of contributing factors. -
Some of the testing overlapped, so part of the goal was to eliminate duplication of district tests assessing skills that the state is already testing. -
Dwindling enrollment means a smaller budget for the district. The 11,000 fewer students as the school year opens equates to about $100 million less in funding. -
Earlier this year, the Broward County school board closed six schools because they’re underenrolled. On the first day of school, neighboring schools are kicking off the year with students and materials they adopted from closed sites. -
In the Palm Beach County School Board race, District 4 seat pits Tiffany Bryant, Anthony Hamlet, Christina Romelus and Daniel Zapata. Here's a look at the candidates and their positions on issues. -
Miami-Dade County school board names Rafael Villalobos as new superintendent: ‘I’m ready on day one’The Miami-Dade School District’s next superintendent will be Rafael Villalobos, the current South Region Superintendent. The months-long search to replace outgoing Superintendent Dr. Jose Dotres culminated Wednesday when the Miami-Dade School Board voted unanimously for Villalobos during a special meeting. -
The district, the nation's sixth-largest with 187,800 students, could see its enrollment drop given how many Haitian families in South Florida may be forced to leave to avoid deportation. -
The position of media clerk was scrapped, saving the district more than $3.3 million in the face of a budget deficit driven largely by loss in state funding. -
A total of 121 schools will continue to have free lunches because schools can still qualify individually for a federal program covering the meals. -
The board didn't allocate a specific amount or materials as part of the relief. Rather, members voted to provide support “as needed and as deemed appropriate,” according to the agenda item. -
The two finalists to replace Jose Dotres are South Florida locals who already work in public education.
