Free Press education reporter: Becoming a mom won’t change how I do my job

Free Press education reporter: Becoming a mom won’t change how I do my job | Opinion

Posted by author February 15, 2025 Jobs

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I’ve been reporting on education for nearly a decade now, four of those years here, in Michigan, for the Detroit Free Press.

And every year, I end up hearing the same question from people I interact with on the job, one that gnaws on education reporters everywhere: “Are you a parent?”

My answer was no. But, I’d add that I’m a taxpayer. I’m a former public and private school student. I’m the granddaughter and niece of former educators. I studied public education policy as an undergraduate. And I’m curious, and good at asking questions.

That is, until October, when my fiancé and I welcomed a seven-pound baby girl we’d nicknamed “Pancake” during my nine months of pregnancy. At the hospital, like a true reporter, I was asking the nurses what trends they’d seen in births lately as they inserted the IV.

Now my answer is yes, I’m a parent. As of this month, I’m back on the job. And while I think becoming a mother has changed nearly every part of my life, I still don’t think that fact will change the way I report on education. And I still need you, our readers, for feedback on the stories I pursue as the Freep’s education reporter.

As a new parent on leave, I’ve had 15 beautiful weeks bonding with Pancake to think about how being a parent has fundamentally transformed my identity and my life. Because it has, dramatically. I count hours differently, trying to make every minute with and without my daughter count, to make room for making bottles and washing dishes and trying to get a little reading done, in those short moments at 5 a.m. when she’s back sleeping and I can’t fall asleep again. I wonder about everything I’m getting right and wrong: Has she had enough tummy time? Is she meeting developmental milestones on the “right” schedule? Will she feel bonded with me as I return to work?

Back on the job, I’m also thinking about how being a mother might shape my identity as a journalist, and I wanted to share those thoughts with you, our readers.

What I do understand a little better is how weighed-down modern parenthood can feel when every social media platform you turn to is laden with posts about how there is one perfect way to raise a child and, surprise ― you’re doing it the wrong way.

But I am still not sold on the idea that being a parent will make me better at my job, or make me inexplicably understand more about public education. Coming back from leave, I know it is still my duty to hear from everyone who is a stakeholder in education.

And I rely on my colleagues, too, to help guide conversations about big issues in education. You should know that every single one of us has been shaped by education in some way. The staff of the Detroit Free Press represents the spectrum when it comes to parenthood: A good handful of us are new parents. Some are in the thick of parenting, and others have seen their adult children leave the house already. Many others are proud aunts and uncles and former students. And we’re all taxpayers.

Now that I’m back, I want to hear from you, our readers — readers who might be parents, students, educators, taxpayers, policymakers and other stakeholders — about what matters in education in Michigan in 2025.

So, drop me a message, please: laltavena@freepress.com.

Lily Altavena covers education and equity across Michigan for the Detroit Free Press. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we may publish it online and in print.