Biography

Mary Lord's articles on K12 and higher education have appeared in a variety of national publications for more than a decade.

She has visited schools and interviewed superintendents and teachers across the country, including Mayor-appointed school chiefs in Boston and Philadelphia, attended academic and professional conferences, and distilled research into reader-friendly reports explaining what trends and regulations mean for parents, teachers, and kids.

A longtime resident of the District of Columbia, Mary Lord has volunteered in schools since her children — who have attended District public, charter and private schools — were toddlers.

Mary Lord is a member of the District of Columbia State Board of Education, National Education Writers' Association, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc., and the Dupont Circle Citizens Association.

Publications

Leave no school behind: they're fighting for high-quality education.  You can, too  Essence Magazine, March 2005, [Feature on African Americans who have turned bad schools around or made great schools better]

Freedom of choice: parents frustrated with conventional public schools are bucking the system. Here Black mothers who chose education alternatives share their success stories  Essence Magazine, August 2003  [feature on school choice]

NCLB, Testing and Growth Models  National Education Writers Association backgrounder, May/June 2006

Arabic Classes Gain Popularity  The Boston Globe, October 9, 2005

Hey, Campers! How's Your Fiscal Fitness? Start-ups are the latest summer sport for girls  U.S. News & World Report, undated  [Feature on business and investing camps]

Dangerous Games Preventable injuries are booming in kids' sports  U.S. News & World Report, April 8, 2002

True Grit Growing up poor in a large family, University of Colorado professor Jackie Sullivan forged a remarkably successful career, from climbing the corporate ladder at EDS to turning youngsters on to engineering  ASEE Prism Magazine, October 2004  [Profile of an innovative engineer and her mission to get kids jazzed about engineering]