Christina Samuels
@casamuels.bsky.social
Deputy Managing Editor for The Hechinger Report. We do education.🎓
Former employers: Ed Week, Washington Post, Miami Herald. FAMU grad.🐍
Signal: cas.37
Former employers: Ed Week, Washington Post, Miami Herald. FAMU grad.🐍
Signal: cas.37
Pinned
Tracking Trump: His actions to dismantle the Education Department, and more
The president has said he wants to eliminate the Education Department while fighting ‘woke’ ideology in schools. A week-by-week look at what he’s done
hechingerreport.org
The Hechinger Report has been following the Trump administration's actions on a week-by-week basis. Keep up with all the news here:
hechingerreport.org/tracking-tru...
hechingerreport.org/tracking-tru...
Back in pandemic days, when stores were out of yeast, I found a baking supply store that shipped me 20# of yeast and I sold the bricks to my friends (at cost!) I've had my pound of yeast all that time and I always proof it before baking--it's still as active as ever. That's freezer storage for you!
November 23, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Back in pandemic days, when stores were out of yeast, I found a baking supply store that shipped me 20# of yeast and I sold the bricks to my friends (at cost!) I've had my pound of yeast all that time and I always proof it before baking--it's still as active as ever. That's freezer storage for you!
I really don't like oatmeal raisin cookies, but at least they stand for something. What even is a sugar cookie. All cookies have sugar/butter/flour in them. Bye.
One cookie flavor gotta go…
(chocolate chip, sugar, white chocolate chip, oatmeal rasin)
(chocolate chip, sugar, white chocolate chip, oatmeal rasin)
November 23, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I really don't like oatmeal raisin cookies, but at least they stand for something. What even is a sugar cookie. All cookies have sugar/butter/flour in them. Bye.
I'll do you one better -- both Swedish Fish AND Twizzlers can get outta here.
November 23, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I'll do you one better -- both Swedish Fish AND Twizzlers can get outta here.
This person pitched my news organization earlier this year, but I found the pitches suspiciously too perfect and turned them down. I had a thought of trying to force a confession but figured it would take too much time and effort -- I'm glad someone got to the bottom of it.
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 20, 2025 at 11:19 PM
This person pitched my news organization earlier this year, but I found the pitches suspiciously too perfect and turned them down. I had a thought of trying to force a confession but figured it would take too much time and effort -- I'm glad someone got to the bottom of it.
I just started this book. I manage my news organization's early childhood coverage and I think all the time about how we as sa nation are utterly reliant on child care workers who get paid basically nothing, even working full time. (The median wage is around $13/hr)
Some news: tomorrow at 9am, Ted Koppel + CBS Sunday Morning will air a two-part story on the devastating surge of full-time workers being pushed into homelessness.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
I'll be interviewed along with two families from There Is No Place for Us. It would mean a lot if you'd watch and help spread the word.
November 15, 2025 at 11:36 PM
I just started this book. I manage my news organization's early childhood coverage and I think all the time about how we as sa nation are utterly reliant on child care workers who get paid basically nothing, even working full time. (The median wage is around $13/hr)
This is depressing as hell. Am I that old? And all the HBCU/Divine 9 folks in this video fumbling the ball!
www.tiktok.com/@mrsdsilva/v...
www.tiktok.com/@mrsdsilva/v...
It’s been a long week for some of my friends! 😆 Leave them alone! DONT MISS THE END!! #DJHS #teachersrock#fyp#teachersoftiktok#ittakestwo (it actually takes a whole village around here🥰)
TikTok video by Mrs.Silva💕
www.tiktok.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:06 AM
This is depressing as hell. Am I that old? And all the HBCU/Divine 9 folks in this video fumbling the ball!
www.tiktok.com/@mrsdsilva/v...
www.tiktok.com/@mrsdsilva/v...
Reposted by Christina Samuels
thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 11:25 PM
thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
Teen Vogue and @hechingerreport.org, where I'm an editor, worked together on several stories over the years. @leximcmenamin.com and @allegrak.bsky.social and many others were wonderful partners and this is gutting news. A list of just a few of the stories where Teen Vogue was a valued partner:
Teen Vogue Is Joining Vogue.com
The transition, in which Teen Vogue will keep its unique editorial identity and mission, fortifies the evolving Vogue ecosystem.
www.vogue.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Teen Vogue and @hechingerreport.org, where I'm an editor, worked together on several stories over the years. @leximcmenamin.com and @allegrak.bsky.social and many others were wonderful partners and this is gutting news. A list of just a few of the stories where Teen Vogue was a valued partner:
I’m at the laundromat washing comforters and I have forgotten how…assertive…you have to be at a laundromat. I am such a soft suburbanite.
November 1, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I’m at the laundromat washing comforters and I have forgotten how…assertive…you have to be at a laundromat. I am such a soft suburbanite.
Not a great picture but I was just struck by my red osier dogwood over here being quietly beautiful🌱
November 1, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Not a great picture but I was just struck by my red osier dogwood over here being quietly beautiful🌱
It's hard to keep track of everything, but the government shutdown means that more than 100 Head Start centers won't receive their expected funding on Nov. 1. Christy Gleason at @savethechildren.org told me how families in those programs are facing so many challenges right now.
‘The clock is ticking’: Shutdown imperils food, child care for many - The Hechinger Report
The federally funded Head Start provides free preschool and child care for low-income families, and is particularly important to rural communities with few other child care options.
hechingerreport.org
November 1, 2025 at 6:25 PM
It's hard to keep track of everything, but the government shutdown means that more than 100 Head Start centers won't receive their expected funding on Nov. 1. Christy Gleason at @savethechildren.org told me how families in those programs are facing so many challenges right now.
My question is, what's next for these jewels? One could build a whole novel around that! You can't sell the jewels on the open market. If some evil billionaire paid for them to be stolen, there's no way he could ever display his ill-gotten gains, he'd have to just look at them in private.
I spend a year plotting a mystery novel and then this happens.
October 20, 2025 at 1:01 PM
My question is, what's next for these jewels? One could build a whole novel around that! You can't sell the jewels on the open market. If some evil billionaire paid for them to be stolen, there's no way he could ever display his ill-gotten gains, he'd have to just look at them in private.
The Education Department is close to functionally disappearing. I didn't think this could happen, and I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Here's a piece I wrote on how the hollowing out is affecting special education:
hechingerreport.org/parents-advo...
hechingerreport.org/parents-advo...
Parents, advocates alarmed as Trump leverages shutdown to gut special education department
Two months after Education Secretary Linda McMahon was confirmed, she and a small team from the department met with leadership from the National Center for Learning Disabilities, an advocacy group tha...
hechingerreport.org
October 18, 2025 at 1:34 PM
The Education Department is close to functionally disappearing. I didn't think this could happen, and I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Here's a piece I wrote on how the hollowing out is affecting special education:
hechingerreport.org/parents-advo...
hechingerreport.org/parents-advo...
I covered special education and children with disabilities for years before I became an editor - this week I had a chance to dust off the source list and pull together a story on just what the heck is happening in the federal special education office:
hechingerreport.org/parents-advo...
hechingerreport.org/parents-advo...
Parents, advocates alarmed as Trump leverages shutdown to gut special education department
Two months after Education Secretary Linda McMahon was confirmed, she and a small team from the department met with leadership from the National Center for Learning Disabilities, an advocacy group tha...
hechingerreport.org
October 17, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I covered special education and children with disabilities for years before I became an editor - this week I had a chance to dust off the source list and pull together a story on just what the heck is happening in the federal special education office:
hechingerreport.org/parents-advo...
hechingerreport.org/parents-advo...
A new normal for schools - trying to figure out how to fill budget gaps left because federal money has been delayed or cut. From one supe: “I had teachers crying, staff members crying. They thought they were going to lose their jobs a week before school."
Schools confront a new reality: They can’t count on federal money
Ashe County, North Carolina, and thousands of other school districts are preparing to lose some federal public school funding after a freeze on nearly $7 billion over the summer.
hechingerreport.org
September 18, 2025 at 6:25 PM
A new normal for schools - trying to figure out how to fill budget gaps left because federal money has been delayed or cut. From one supe: “I had teachers crying, staff members crying. They thought they were going to lose their jobs a week before school."
If Isaac Chotiner ever said "Sorry, what did you just say" in a conversation with me, my whole life would flash before my eyes
August 26, 2025 at 10:08 PM
If Isaac Chotiner ever said "Sorry, what did you just say" in a conversation with me, my whole life would flash before my eyes
Seemingly relentless attacks and funding cuts since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term have been “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said one professor who left higher education on the eve of the pandemic, in 2019. “I’m hearing from a lot more people that it’s too much.”
A ‘Great Defection’ threatens to empty universities and colleges of top teaching talent
Political attacks and other problems appear to be driving an exodus of Ph.D.s and faculty from higher education, threatening a diminished experience for undergraduates.
hechingerreport.org
August 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Seemingly relentless attacks and funding cuts since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term have been “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said one professor who left higher education on the eve of the pandemic, in 2019. “I’m hearing from a lot more people that it’s too much.”
It's amazing to me that I'm walking around with a $1,000 device in my pocket that I've had to disable some of the core functions of, because otherwise I would be overwhelmed with spam phone calls and texts. The calls come every day. The texts seem unstoppable/unblockable. And this is just...OK?
August 21, 2025 at 1:04 PM
It's amazing to me that I'm walking around with a $1,000 device in my pocket that I've had to disable some of the core functions of, because otherwise I would be overwhelmed with spam phone calls and texts. The calls come every day. The texts seem unstoppable/unblockable. And this is just...OK?
The Naked Gun was so stupid and funny. I went with my 12-year-old and he understood and laughed at more jokes than I would have suspected (or wanted)
August 10, 2025 at 2:26 PM
The Naked Gun was so stupid and funny. I went with my 12-year-old and he understood and laughed at more jokes than I would have suspected (or wanted)
Just got back from Fantastic Four. In terms of pure "this is fun" excitement, I think Superman was better. In terms of me understanding some of the deep lore, I'm a Marvel girlie so I had that background knowledge. But FF was good! Better than just another cog in the massive Marvel machine.
July 27, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Just got back from Fantastic Four. In terms of pure "this is fun" excitement, I think Superman was better. In terms of me understanding some of the deep lore, I'm a Marvel girlie so I had that background knowledge. But FF was good! Better than just another cog in the massive Marvel machine.
I have been sticking paint samples up all over my house (thanks, Samplize) and I'm happy to realize that even though I can perceive the difference between, say, Wind Chime and Soft Fern (two grayish greens) I don't CARE about the difference. I'm happy this is one thing I won't obsess over (much).
July 26, 2025 at 8:49 PM
I have been sticking paint samples up all over my house (thanks, Samplize) and I'm happy to realize that even though I can perceive the difference between, say, Wind Chime and Soft Fern (two grayish greens) I don't CARE about the difference. I'm happy this is one thing I won't obsess over (much).
Man this really hurts. I grew up with him.
The death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner was mourned by fans and admirers of the actor. He played the only son of Bill Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable on the landmark series “The Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992.
Tracee Ellis Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Magic Johnson and more react to death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner
The death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner was mourned by fans and admirers of the actor. He played the only son of Bill Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable on the landmark series “The Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992.
bit.ly
July 21, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Man this really hurts. I grew up with him.
This pupster cannot be real. That face! 🥹
This friend is in search of a forever home: Sophie, located in Page, AZ.
Learn more: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/sophie-77221346/az/page/page-animal-adoption-agency-az399/
Learn more: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/sophie-77221346/az/page/page-animal-adoption-agency-az399/
July 18, 2025 at 1:28 AM
This pupster cannot be real. That face! 🥹
With inflation, it's now a 10-alarm fire
If your #1 issue is inflation, this is a five-alarm fire
July 16, 2025 at 3:54 PM
With inflation, it's now a 10-alarm fire