Alec MacGillis
I have been reporting for ProPublica since 2015, most recently covering the post-pandemic schools crisis.
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What I Cover
In recent years, I have covered gun violence, economic inequality and the post-pandemic crisis in public education.
My Background
I worked for six newspapers, including The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post. In 2011, I switched to magazines, at The New Republic, before arriving at ProPublica in 2015. My work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The New York Times Magazine, among others. I won the 2016 Robin Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, the 2017 Polk Award for National Reporting and the 2017 Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award. A resident of Baltimore, I am the author of “The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell” and “Fulfillment: America in the Shadow of Amazon.”
On a Mission From God: Inside the Movement to Redirect Billions of Taxpayer Dollars to Private Religious Schools
Private letters reveal the strategy behind the decadeslong quest — successful in 12 states and counting — by politicians, church officials and activists to make taxpayer-funded school vouchers available not just to the poor but to the wealthy.
The Unequal Effects of School Closings
As more families opt for charter and private schools or homeschooling in the wake of the pandemic, cities around the country are shuttering schools. The effects fall hardest on majority-Black schools and special-needs students.
The Man Behind Project 2025’s Most Radical Plans
As Donald Trump tried to disavow the politically toxic project, its director, Paul Dans, stepped down. But the plans and massive staffing database that he prepared — to replace thousands of members of the “deep state” with MAGA loyalists — remain.
Skipping School: America’s Hidden Education Crisis
Absenteeism has nearly doubled since the pandemic. With state and federal governments largely abdicating any role in getting kids back into classrooms, some schools have turned to private companies for a reimagined version of the truant officer.
Memory-Holing Jan. 6: What Happens When You Try to Make History Vanish?
The Trump administration’s decision to delete a DOJ database of cases against Capitol riot defendants places those who seek to preserve the historical record in direct opposition to their own government.
In the Wild West of School Voucher Expansions, States Rely on Untested Companies, With Mixed Results
States are handing multimillion-dollar contracts to a handful of fledgling private companies to manage the rapidly growing, convoluted marketplace of school-choice programs. The process has been bumpy.
The Small Midwestern Cities That Could Play a Pivotal Role in This Year’s Elections
For all the talk about big-city Democrats and rural Republicans, it’s the voters in overlooked places like Sandusky, Ohio, and Racine, Wisconsin, who could decide everything from key congressional races to the presidency.
Conservatives Go to War — Against Each Other — Over School Vouchers
School choice advocates are intent on expanding the availability of vouchers to fund private education at the expense of public schools, but rural residents of these targeted states are putting up some of the strongest resistance.
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Private Schools, Public Money: School Leaders Are Pushing Parents to Exploit Voucher Programs
Voucher expansions have unleashed a flood of additional taxpayer dollars to the benefit of families already enrolled in private schools. In Ohio, some schools are now “strongly encouraging” parents to apply for vouchers, regardless of need or income.
An Experiment to Fight Pandemic-Era Learning Loss Launches in Richmond
After intense opposition and skepticism, two elementary schools opened 20 days early to help students make up for what they missed during the time of remote learning. The first question: Would kids show up in the middle of summer for extra schooling?
How Social Media Apps Could Be Fueling Homicides Among Young Americans
As shooting rates among the young remain stratospheric, evidence suggests social media is serving as an accelerant to violence. Taunts that once could be forgotten now live on before large audiences, prompting people to take action.
“We’re Huge in Learning Loss!” Cashing in on the Post-Pandemic Education Crisis.
Test scores are plummeting while tens of billions in federal aid flows to schools. A visit to a recent education technology convention provides a glimpse of the frenzy to profit from the recovery efforts.
Can America’s Students Recover What They Lost During the Pandemic?
Disastrous test scores increasingly show how steep a toll the COVID-19 era exacted on students, particularly minorities. Schools are grappling with how to catch up, and the experience of one city shows how intractable the obstacles are.