Morgan Smith

Morgan Smith was a reporter at the Tribune from 2009 to 2018, covering politics, public education and inequality. In 2013, she received a National Education Writers Association award for “Death of a District,” a series on school closures. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Wellesley College, she moved to Austin in 2008 to enter law school at the University of Texas. A San Antonio native, her work has also appeared in Slate, where she spent a year as an editorial intern in Washington D.C.

Past Contributions

University of Texas Law School Selects New Dean

By Morgan Smith May 9, 2012

Ward Farnsworth, an associate dean at Boston University School of Law, will take over as dean of the University of Texas School of Law on June 1. Full Story
Interactive: How Much Do Superintendents Make?

By Morgan Smith and Ryan Murphy May 2, 2012

During the 2011 legislative session, we compiled a salary database of all the state’s highest-paid school administrators: superintendents. After a year and a $5.4 billion reduction in state funding to public education, we are doing it again. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Eddie Seal / Ryan Murphy
Texas Schools Chief Stepping Down

By Morgan Smith May 1, 2012

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott is leaving the post Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to in 2007. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Six Years After District is Closed, Signs of Rebirth

By Morgan Smith April 9, 2012

Plagued by financial and academic troubles, Wilmer-Hutchins ISD was closed six years ago. Now, the area appears to be on the verge of academic transformation, with three new Dallas ISD campuses. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
District Still Has Work to Do After Cutting Sports

By Morgan Smith April 8, 2012

Premont ISD in South Texas has made drastic moves to improve its finances — including cutting high school sports. But critics fault the state's accountability and school finance systems, which they say punish districts that serve largely low-income populations. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Eddie Seal / Todd Wiseman
North Forest Lives On, But So Do Its Struggles

By Morgan Smith April 6, 2012

North Forest ISD has gotten what amounts to a stay of execution. But the question of whether students would be better off attending different schools still lingers. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Michael Stravato / Todd Wiseman
Texas School District Closures Are Rare, But Should They Be?

By Morgan Smith April 5, 2012

There's little research that indicates closing districts will improve outcomes for students, but letting chronically low-performing and financially mismanaged schools stay open doesn't work either. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
STAAR Almost Over, but Debate Isn't

By Morgan Smith March 30, 2012

The STAAR exams are almost over, but for elected officials, educators and other members of the education community, wrangling over the new tests — and the effects of standardized testing in the classroom — has just begun. Full Story
Slideshow: Save Our Schools Rally at Texas Capitol

By Morgan Smith March 24, 2012

Hundreds of educators, lawmakers and parents descended on the Capitol Saturday to protest cuts to public education. Here are some images from the scene. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Who Will Lead the Senate Education Committee?

By Morgan Smith March 22, 2012

Sen. Florence Shapiro’s departure means the end of a nearly two-decade-long tenure in the state Senate — and an opening in the top position on the Senate Education Committee for the first time since 2003. Full Story

Credit: Jeff Heimsath