Jessica Bakeman
Education reporterJessica Bakeman reports on K-12 and higher education for WLRN, South Florida's NPR affiliate. She is an investigative journalist who has also covered education policymaking and politics in three state capitals: Tallahassee, Fla.; Albany, N.Y.; and Jackson, Miss.
Bakeman is the reporter and producer behind WLRN's 2019 audio documentary and investigative series, "Chartered: Florida's First Private Takeover Of A Public School System," which earned a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for news documentary and an honorable mention for the inaugural Esserman-Knight Journalism Prize. She also played a leading role in WLRN's coverage of the aftermath of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Bakeman was awarded the 2020 Journalist of the Year award from the Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She also won national first-place awards for audio storytelling in 2019 and education beat reporting in 2018 from the Education Writers Association. Other honors include a Salute to Excellence award from the National Association of Black Journalists and a Journalism Award of Excellence from the American College of Emergency Physicians, both for work in 2018.
Previously, Bakeman helped establish POLITICO's national network of state capital coverage, serving as an original member of the company's bureaus in both Albany and Tallahassee. She also covered New York state politics for The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
Bakeman is the past president of the Capitol Press Club of Florida, a nonprofit organization that raises money for college scholarships benefiting journalism students. Also, she twice chaired a planning committee for the New York State Legislative Correspondents Association's annual political satire show, the oldest of its kind in the country.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and English literature from SUNY Plattsburgh, a public liberal arts college in northeastern New York. She proudly hails from Rochester, N.Y.
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During this special Class of COVID-19 edition of The Sunshine Economy, superintendents of South Florida school districts detail how they're trying to find thousands of students who aren't going to school — and what the consequences will be if they don't. -
During this special Class of COVID-19 edition of The Sunshine Economy, superintendents of South Florida school districts detail how they're trying to find thousands of students who aren't going to school — and what the consequences will be if they don't.
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With the state facing a budget crunch thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, what has been the impact of the virus on the finances of local colleges and universities? Can schools keep tuition in check?
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With the state facing a budget crunch thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, what has been the impact of the virus on the finances of local colleges and universities? Can schools keep tuition in check?
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The Parkland-inspired group is now focusing on "holding the Biden administration accountable" for implementing policies that curb gun violence.
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Aalayah Eastmond shares what it's like to experience this difficult moment in the nation's capital as a young Black woman and a survivor of gun violence.
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HBCUs from around the country are partnering with the school districts in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach for virtual events over the next few weeks.
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"There was no closure, really — the word we use for all kinds of big life events. There was no closure."
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Several millennial women, Latinas and teachers are among the new school board members in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
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The Miami Dade College foundation is trying to raise $25,000 to establish the endowed scholarship for LGBTQ students.
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Free at-home testing is available for people who are afraid to seek care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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More than a quarter million students in Florida are scheduled to take a required annual exam assessing their English skills early next year — and there is no remote option.
