Portfolio

Will spear found hope enough to share on Texas's Death Row

Texas Monthly, October 23, 2023

Will Speer Found Hope Enough to Share on Texas’s Death Row

It’s common, when trying to muster up compassion for someone sitting on death row, to imagine them as “somebody’s child” or “somebody’s father”—a sort of humanity by proxy, through the lens of a loved one.

The Trace and the Guardian, Nov 15, 2022

Divisions run deep in Uvalde after school shooting: ‘If you’re not trying you’re complicit’

It took most of the summer for the Uvalde school district to fire Pete Arredondo, the chief of the district police department whose blunders were largely blamed for the high number of casualties at the horrific mass shooting at Robb elementary school.

Texas Monthly, October 6, 2022

Decoding the Christian Language of Texas GOP Officials

By declaring that “evil will always walk among us” or calling for Texans to “unify in faith,” politicians communicate specific ideas to the electorate.

The Texas Tribune - October 29, 2021

For Texans who want a child but have difficult pregnancies, the new abortion law just made that journey even harder

Genetic screenings can help determine if a fetus will have certain conditions — or even be viable. But those usually occur at the end of the first trimester, long after Texas’ new abortion law bans people from terminating their pregnancies.

Texas abortion law complications

TexasMonthly - October 6, 2021

In East Texas, Cleveland ISD Needed Money. The State Sent Charter Schools Instead.

In many of Texas’s rapidly growing exurbs, such schools have been fast-tracked to keep pace with exploding student populations.

The 74 Million - July 22, 2021

Texas Second Graders ‘Show’ Their Pandemic Challenges through Art and ‘Tell’ How Their Teacher Helped them Stay Strong

Ashley Crandall’s second grade students didn’t like remote learning during the pandemic, and they hated wearing masks…

One Texas Town, Two School Districts, Clashing Mask Policies: How Science and Politics Collided in New Braunfels’ Classrooms

The 74 Million - March 25, 2021

One Texas Town, Two School Districts, Clashing Mask Policies: How Science and Politics Collided in New Braunfels’ Classrooms

or locals and tourists, it’s hard to overstate the charm of New Braunfels, Texas, a place of spring-fed rivers, dancehalls, and German festivals.

The Hechinger Report - August 26, 2020

Some Christian schools are finally grappling with their racist past and segregated present

Alma Heights Christian Academy opened in 1955 in a scenic valley in Pacifica, California, just south of San Francisco. Separate campuses for an upper and lower school are nestled along…

Some Christian schools are finally grappling with their racist past and segregated present
Return First for In-Person Learning, But a Racial Divide Spoiled Their Plans

The 74 Million - October 27, 2020

Educators Wanted Vulnerable Students To Return First for In-Person Learning, But a Racial Divide Spoiled Their Plans

When Northside Independent School District superintendent Brian Woods designed his reopening strategy, he started with the kids who needed to be there most.

San Antonio Current - July 17, 2020

What’s in a Name? San Antonio High School Names Raise Questions About Inclusivity and Representation

As the U.S. faces a moment of self-awareness, monuments to Confederate and colonial icons are becoming more difficult to defend. Bronze statues and marble cenotaphs have become lightning rods for cultural reckoning since their construction was often just as symbolic.

What’s in a Name? San Antonio High School Names Raise Questions About Inclusivity and Representation
A Scrappy Network of Christians Welcomes Congolese Asylum Seekers

Christianity Today - July 17, 2020

A Scrappy Network of Christians Welcomes Congolese Asylum Seekers

When these Central Africans journey north, this community of believers is waiting for them.

Christianity Today - June 21, 2019

When Christians Don’t Get a Second Chance

Most evangelicals want America’s criminal justice system to offer it. But immigrant Christians like Detroit’s Chaldeans don’t get one.

far from home

Texas Public Radio - Jan. 5, 2019

Far From Home: Different Stories, With Common Threads

On a bulletin board at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, a flier advertised a storytelling event for first-generation students to share their experience in their own words.

San Antonio Current - September 18, 2018

‘Where’d You Go to High School?’: Why It Matters in San Antonio

A few weeks ago, I was getting my haircut, and my stylist mentioned that he’d grown up in San Antonio.“Oh, really?” I said. “Me, too!”

And then, because I’m from here… and he’s from here… I asked the question: “Where’d you go to high school?”

‘Where’d You Go to High School?’: Why It Matters in San Antonio
'This Is Not a Crisis. This Is a Long-Term Disaster'

SOJOURNERS - July 26, 2018

'This Is Not a Crisis. This Is a Long-Term Disaster'

Over the past four months, news from the border has chronicled the stories of families detained and separated — many of them seeking asylum from gang violence in Central America.

San Antonio Current - July 17, 2018

San Antonio Schools Are Still Segregated – By Income As Much As Race

In 1954, the Supreme Court rocked the segregated South when it ruled that the State Board of Education of Topeka could not prevent third-grader Linda Brown from attending Sumner Elementary, an all-white school seven blocks from her house.

The Hechinger Report with Christian Science Monitor - July 16, 2018

Career-themed schools in San Antonio tackle job skills – and inequality

Donor money and close relationships with business are fueling several new high schools that are trying to lift academically prepared graduates from a variety of backgrounds into well-paying jobs.

Texas Public Radio - April 5, 2018

San Antonio ISD’s Plan To Disrupt Economically Segregated Schools

When Lexa Rijos and Jamie Roadman moved to southeast San Antonio 16 years ago, people warned them that there weren’t any good public schools in the area.

san antonio plan to disrupt economically segregated schools
Idolatry, Monuments And The Danger Of Romanticizing History

Relevant Magazine - August 21, 2017

Idolatry, Monuments And The Danger Of Romanticizing History

I have a 3-year-old girl and a 1-year-old boy in my house. We are entering that stage where they’re interested in all the same toys. More accurately, that stage in which the older sister is immediately interested in whatever her younger brother just picked up.