by Denise-Marie Ordway, The Journalist’s Resource March 28, 2023 LINK TO MY POST This collection of research on U.S. school shootings, originally published in February 2018 and updated in December 2021, has been updated again with new data and research on how these violent events affect student achievement and campus enrollment.   Ten people died and another 13 have been injured in U.S. school shootings so far this year, Education Week’s 2023 School Shooting Tracker shows. On March 27, three 9-year-olds and three adult staff members were  killed at The Covenant School in Nashvil ..read more

Single parents struggle to overcome poverty and social biases, but the statistics and societal attitudes reveal they have an uphill battle. Some of the news articles about single parents described and linked to in this post are clearly inspiring, but others may surprise and alarm you. They aspire to broaden our perspective and understanding of single parents and their experiences worldwide. If you have trouble getting to these links, feel free to email me at singleparentandstrong@gmail.com, and I’ll send PDFs of them to you. Renters, single-parent households among Australians going hungry A co ..read more

Single parents may be overlooked, derided and discriminated against, but many of us are amazing contributors to our communities. In this occasional series, I will be highlighting their accomplishments, big and small, to reveal that single parents are incredible individuals with amazing superpowers. Below are single parents whose accomplishments are her return to the ring as a boxer, his determination to father his conjoined twins in a foreign land, her entrepreneurial ambitions and her resolve to earn her bachelor’s degree after years of laboring in the fields as child migrant worker: Angeleni ..read more

Nearly every week for several years, Michelle and I have made a point of chatting on the phone to discuss the latest events or catch up on work, family, friends and ourselves. For more than four hours, we shared our horror as we watched the savagery of the insurrection unfold in real time on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington, DC. When the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height and vaccines were limited, we confessed our fear and anxiety over contracting this virus whenever someone at work or in our close family circles tested positive. And then there were the numerous stories we shared a ..read more

I wrote this post in my journalism class and wanted to share it with you. As anyone who watches the news or speaks to other humans probably knows, Ukraine is in a state of war against Russia, suffering a full invasion from three directions simultaneously. As of Feb. 26, 2022, the date this column was written, the fighting has been intense, and Ukraine has shown that it is not afraid of reenacting the battle of David and Goliath on a national scale. This conflict is immensely complicated, but I will attempt to explain both present and past events as best I can, and an understanding of history i ..read more

Single parents struggle to overcome poverty and social biases, but the statistics and societal attitudes reveal they have an uphill battle. Some of the news articles about single parents described and linked to in this post are clearly inspiring but others may surprise and alarm you. They aspire to broaden our perspective and understanding of single parents and their experiences worldwide. If you have trouble getting to these links, feel free to email me at singleparentandstrong@gmail.com and I’ll send PDFs of them to you. Applications for guaranteed income for Birmingham single mothers soon t ..read more

My son and mother were infected with coronavirus or one of its variants during the Christmas of 2021 after their PCR tests yielded the dreaded positive results. Because they had been vaccinated and received their booster shots, their symptoms — fatigue, sore throat, runny nose and headache — were manageable with over-the-counter medications, and hospitalization was never even a thought. My boyfriend, Lewis, and I — also vaccinated and boosted — bypassed the contagion in spite of the holiday meals, gift exchanges, embraces and lengthy conversations we all shared. Before making these discoveries ..read more

Single parents may be overlooked, derided and discriminated against, but many of us are amazing contributors to our communities. In this occasional series, I will be highlighting their accomplishments, big and small, to reveal that single parents are incredible individuals with amazing superpowers. Below are single parents among whose accomplishments include her 40-year-old nonprofit serving single parents and their children, her home built with a 3D printer, her horse-drawn carriage business, and her mission to create generational wealth: Gail Grenier Sweet Gail Grenier Sweet | Screenshot, Sh ..read more

Single parents struggle to overcome poverty and social biases, but the statistics and societal attitudes reveal they have an uphill battle. Some of the news articles about single parents described and linked to in this post are clearly inspiring but others may surprise and alarm you. They aspire to broaden our perspective and understanding of single parents and their experiences worldwide. If you have trouble getting to these links, feel free to email me at singleparentandstrong@gmail.com and I’ll send PDFs of them to you. These moms overcame homelessness. But the fight for a better life is fa ..read more

This short story was written for my senior creative writing class and I wanted to share it with you. The walls of the small home began to moan as they were struck by another of winter’s cold breaths. The icy knives cut past the walls and the clothes of the inhabitants, an uncle and his nephew. The two were celebrating Christmas, sitting before a small collection of dying coals. Beneath their small, browning tree was a single box. A red box. It was much taller than it was wide, though still small. The shape resembled that of a shoebox that once contained a child’s shoes. The box was wrapped as ..read more