We are excited to announce that Sarah Garland will be our next education editor.
Sarah brings substantial chops to this role. First of all, she knows the subject cold from leading Metro’s education coverage since she joined in April 2022 and from being executive editor at The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit education news outlet, where she led editorial coverage before joining The Times.
Sarah has also shown her mettle on some tough stories, from the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses to the influx of migrants into New York—stories that are infused with politics and require an unflinching commitment to independence and humanizing your subjects. She also has a high metabolism.
On Metro, Sarah worked on stories about why Black families are leaving New York City in droves, the fight over how to teach children to read and what happened when a pro-Palestinian protest at Cooper Union went viral. She also found ways to be visually creative, editing an ambitious photo essay about the migrants’ lives in the city. She shepherded stories that also delighted readers – most recently, there was this yarn on emotional support parrots. And she was a total pleasure to work with during the busiest days of campus protests with our live coverage.
Within months of joining The Times, word of Sarah’s gifts as a people manager traveled far and wide in the newsroom. Reporters love her because she understands the power of relationships to get things done. When two colleagues were considering whether to become editors, Sarah made them an inspiring presentation on what the job requires. As one slide put it, “Making the words better is just one part of an editor’s job. Effective editing requires tact and diplomacy. When a writer trusts that you care about them and have their interests at heart, the editing process goes more smoothly.”
In other education team news: We’re also excited to share that for the duration of Sarah Mervosh’s parental leave, Troy Closson will be filling in to cover the national K-12 beat. We’re thrilled to be hosting Troy, who has done story after story that we have admired.
Please give a warm welcome to Sarah and Troy. They both start their new roles on Wednesday.