When we started The Alabama Education Lab at AL.com in 2021, we knew it was important to write about all of the people who help children thrive, both inside and outside of schools.
Savannah Tryens-Fernandes (above, second from left) joined the team in 2021 as a child health and wellness reporter and has written about mental health, counseling, school safety and child care needs around Alabama.
Savannah’s position in our newsroom is supported by Report for America. Every donation gets a match from our national partner Report for America. And thanks to RFA, donations are tax-deductible.
My favorite stories by Savannah this year so far have focused on parents and children.
“Let everyone know on behalf of my family we say thank you for us and the other children that are out there," Cory Jones, a Tuscaloosa dad, told Savannah after she looked into his complaint that his son had been unfairly disciplined. After her story published, Tuscaloosa City Schools revised its discipline process.
Savannah also spent a lot of time in Selma this spring. She talked to Ainka and Josiah Jackson (pictured below), a mother and son who are trying to figure out what the future holds for both of them in Alabama.
