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.
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The stall on an agreement is over a split on health insurance policies that would add an extra cost to employees. -
Eight years after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the mental health support that came out of the tragedy remains a cornerstone to help people heal their psychological scars, no matter what trauma inflicted them. -
The large bonuses administrators received dates back to a 2022 referendum that was made to look like it would boost teacher pay. Neither the school board nor the public had all the key details about what the referendum would do, according to the audit. -
Over 100 students got a behind-the-scenes tour of the mega operation set up at the Hard Rock Stadium for the Formula E Miami Grand Prix. The students are part of engineering teams at school who assemble their own electric go-karts. -
A Florida Auditor General report concluded the state Department of Education's voucher management program is riddled with problems. Millions of taxpayer dollars for the program are unaccounted for, infuriating lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle. -
After displeased students and parents voiced their grievances to the school board, the district said it found funding to ensure venues used for commencements be the same or similar to the ones used for the graduating Class of 2025. -
Two years into an ambitious plan to deal with plummeting enrollment counts in Broward County schools, Superintendent Howard Hepburn told WLRN he did not know how many more would be shut — but said they are "halfway there" in saving the $100 million targeted. He also played down Gov. Ron DeSantis' claims that the district is a "disaster" — and had a message for families fearful of immigration enforcement. -
Facing a budget hole of $94 million in the district due to having 10,000 fewer students than it did last year, the changes are estimated to result in saving up to $12 million for the sixth largest school district in the country. -
Lincoln Elementary in Riviera Beach is shutting its doors at the end of this school year.
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Broward superintendent welcomes state to help district 'streamline operations' after DeSantis slightBroward County schools officials are responding to scathing criticism from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who suggested the state take over the district. -
Florida’s high school graduation rate for the 2024-25 school year was 92% — the highest in the state’s history — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced during his annual State of the State address to the Florida Legislature on Tuesday. -
Adam Cervera's call comes a day after Gov. Ron DeSantis called the district a "disaster" and suggested a receivership would be the fix to a series of financial problems recently.
