Barriers to information and hostility in the field may be familiar territory for all journalists. But for those on the education beat, even traditional sources of education news, like school board meetings, have become divisive--generating equal parts controversy and spectacle. Tensions also continue to rise in higher education as colleges and universities grapple with on-campus demonstrations and legislation impacting both faculty and students. In a time when public trust in journalism is declining, reporters are rethinking their approach as they cover K-12 and higher education.\r\n\r\nIn 2023, two journalists were granted unprecedented access to a CMSD school and pushed back on traditional forms of education journalism. The result: Over 100 articles that made us laugh, cry, and reconsider how education journalism should look in today\'s society. What can we learn from such community approaches to journalism? How else can we responsibly cover some of our most consequential stories? And what is the impact on the readers, students, teachers, and even the journalists themselves?