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Stephanie Hughes

Senior Reporter

SHORT BIO

Stephanie Hughes is a senior reporter at Marketplace. She’s focused on education and the economy, and lives in Brooklyn.

She's reported on topics including the effectiveness of technology used by schools to prevent violence, startups that translate global climate data for homebuyers, and why theater majors are getting jobs writing for chatbots.

Previously, she worked as a producer for Bloomberg, where she covered finance, technology, and economics. Before that, she worked as the senior producer for “Maryland Morning,” broadcast on WYPR, the NPR affiliate in Baltimore. She’s also reported for other media outlets, including NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “The Takeaway,” and Salon.

At WYPR, she helped produce the year-long, multi-platform series “The Lines Between Us,” which won a 2014 duPont-Columbia Award. She’s also interested in using crowdsourcing to create online projects, such as this interactive map of flags around Maryland, made from listener contributions.

A native of southern Delaware, Stephanie graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in communications, studying at the Annenberg School. Before she found her way to radio, she worked in the children’s division of the publishing house Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Latest Stories (476)

At some universities, tenure may become a thing of the past. That could have an economic impact.

Aug 16, 2022
Academics want it. Critics want to restrict it. The issue could affect a state's ability to recruit educators.
A Pegasus statue at the University of Central Florida, one of the schools affected by a state law constraining professors' tenure.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

Automatic college admissions can be a boon to students and schools alike

Aug 15, 2022
More schools are willing to say: If your grades (and maybe test scores) are good enough, you're in!
Some colleges are opting for a direct admissions approach to accepting students — no college applications required.
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Where Monday is the new Sunday: More school districts move to 4 days a week

Aug 12, 2022
Many districts make the switch to attract teachers and save money. Though some extend the school day, classroom time often contracts.
Some school districts don't have classes on Mondays. Others skip Fridays and provide child care for a fee.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

"This is your principal calling": Schools get creative to boost attendance

Aug 11, 2022
Principals are calling, texting and throwing pizza parties in an effort to bring down chronic absenteeism that can affect funding.
In some places, average daily attendance determines how much money schools get from the state.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Alexa, meet Roomba: Amazon buys robotic vacuum maker iRobot for $1.7 billion

Aug 8, 2022
"Alexa, please tell the Roomba to stop scaring the cat."
Amazon's billion-dollar purchase of Roomba may see the company become even more involved in home smart technologies.
Eric Piermont/Getty Images

It really is who you know: Social mobility and schools

Aug 8, 2022
New research finds that low-income children who grow up in communities with lots of cross-class relationships are more likely to rise out of poverty.
The recipient school districts are now considering how to use their donations, whether on improvements like a new gym or investments like college scholarship funds.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Amazon's purchase of iRobot is a step toward more robots in our homes

Aug 5, 2022
During the pandemic, people have become more comfortable with robots. Now Alexa could control a household army of Roombas, one expert says.
Amazon announced Friday that it's purchasing iRobot, the company that makes Roomba vacuum cleaners, for $1.7 billion.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Is the red-hot job market getting a little more pink?

Aug 4, 2022
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest JOLTS report indicates that the labor market may be cooling off, just a bit.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest JOLTS report indicates that the labor market may be cooling off, just a bit.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Monitoring software on students' school laptops raises privacy concerns

Aug 3, 2022
A new survey finds that the vast majority of American schools are using activity monitoring software to track students. The intent is to keep students safe, but it's more common to be used for disciplinary reasons.
Schools' use of  monitoring software to keep track of students has been increasing.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

As more teachers leave the profession, substitutes become even more essential

Aug 2, 2022
Pandemic-era needs for substitute teachers are changing how schools fill the job – and who they hire to fill it.
The concept of the substitute teacher has been altered because of the pandemic-fueled teacher shortage.
Getty Images