Diary of a HomeSchooler

Sarah Alli-Brown is sixteen-years-old. She’s a high school junior whose school has been shuttered for months because of the coronavirus.

Best News Feature2020 Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition

2020 / Anayansi Diaz-Cortes / Brett Myers / Kevin Sullivan / Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, USA

Sarah Alli-Brown is sixteen-years-old. She’s a high school junior whose school has been shuttered for months because of the coronavirus.

Her single-mom has two jobs as an essential worker caring for the elderly, leaving Sarah to care for her younger siblings who are home now too. As the nation shelters in place, we asked Sarah to record her daily life. iPhone in hand, she brings listeners into her home where she gets real about the pressures of trying to get into college while also caring full-time for her twin brothers.

Diary of a HomeSchooler was produced by Anayansi Diaz-Cortes for Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, in partnership with Chalkbeat. Sarah Alli-Brown was the diarist. The story was edited by Brett Myers and based on reporting from Kalyn Belsha, with sound design from Jim Briggs and Fernando Arruda. Kevin Sullivan was the executive producer.


produced by

Brett Myers

Brett Myers (@BrettMyers) is a Senior Radio Editor for Reveal at The Center for Investigative Reporting. As a Story Doctor at the 2019 Third Coast Conference, Brett will meet one-on-one with producers to treat their story ailments.

Kevin Sullivan

Kevin Sullivan is the executive producer of Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX.


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