Education Week Series Wins Benjamin Fine Award

By Alan Richard

A series of articles in Education Week that examined the sexual abuse of students by school employees and the frequent lack of safeguards against such abuse has won the grand prize in the Benjamin Fine Awards for education journalism.

The series, "A Trust Betrayed," by Associate Editor Caroline Hendrie, was chosen as the best overall entry from nearly 200 submissions from newspapers and magazines for the annual awards sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Ms. Hendrie, now an assistant managing editor at the newspaper, was scheduled to receive the $1,500 prize at the organization's annual convention this week in San Antonio.

Published in December 1998, the articles drew new attention to often-overlooked cases of sexual misconduct with students by teachers and other school employees. Since it appeared, policymakers and legislators in several states have launched new efforts to...