Annie Ma

Data and Investigative Reporting

‘I am angry.’ CMS says air is safe but aging systems fall short of COVID-19 advice from CDC — CMS told the public that it was upgrading HVAC systems to make them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. But they did not share that changes still felt short of CDC recommendations and that the 39 buildings with the most stark challenges mostly serve Black and Hispanic students. The Charlotte Observer, Sept. 15, 2020

CMS spent over $1 million on a school security system. It doesn’t work.— After the fatal shooting of a student at Butler High School in 2018, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ leaders assured the public that a new crisis alert system would make children safer. But they didn’t reveal one important detail: The system didn’t work. The Charlotte Observer, Jan. 10, 2020

Did people close to Clayton Wilcox benefit from CMS deals he helped broker? — Former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent pushed the district to buy and license technology from companies that employed his friends and his sons. This story was the first in a series detailing the superintendent's various dealings with education technology companies, including one where he asked to become CEO after securing them a deal with CMS, and that he was under FBI investigation. The Charlotte Observer, Oct. 9, 2019 

‘He should know better.’ Ex-CMS superintendent Wilcox accused of racist, sexist remarks — As superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Clayton Wilcox built a reputation as an advocate for African American and Latino students. But behind closed doors, Wilcox stood accused of repeatedly making comments and jokes some employees considered offensive to women and people of color. The Charlotte Observer, Oct. 29, 2019

‘It just doesn’t seem right.’ Atrium Health reduces nurses’ hours amid coronavirus crisis — As its leaders praised healthcare workers' response to the pandemic, Atrium — the biggest medical provider in the Charlotte region — cut its staff's hours while maintaining millions in unrestricted reserves. The Charlotte Observer, April 22, 2020

Mind the gap: Uncovering pay disparity in the newsroom — Across the industry, women and people of color routinely make less than their male and white counterparts, according to our analysis of union-led pay studies in newsrooms ranging from metro dailies to national publications. Beyond the numbers, women and minority reporters identified a culture that discouraged them from asking for more, that told them they were lucky to even have a job in journalism. My reporting focused on the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. I also contributed to standardizing some of the data and fact-checking the final piece, which was later covered by the Columbia Journalism Review. AAJA Voices, August 10, 2018

For a change, Asians are Oregon's fastest growing population — Hidden in the Census Bureau's July population estimates data release was a change: Asians, not Latinos, are the Oregon demographic with the fastest growth. Using R, Excel, Carto and QGIS, I produced the visualizations, data analysis and reporting for this story and an earlier report on aging. The Oregonian, June 30, 2017

Selected Stories

Students of color push back on calls for police in schools — Schools promised to beef up police presence on campus after the shooting in Uvalde, but for students of color, increased policing often makes them feel less safe and more targeted for disproportionate discipline. The Associated Press, June 5, 2022 

Title IX: Strides for women of color in sports lag under law — For our 50th anniversary coverage of Title IX, I pitched and co-reported this story examining the ways women of color were left behind by the landmark gender equity law. The Associated Press, June 22, 2022

A digital divide haunts schools adapting to virus hurdles — As the omicron variant disrupted yet another school year, large swaths of children remained underconnected from classes, lacking enough devices or bandwidth to log on to sudden remote learning. The Associated Press, Jan. 15, 2022

‘Difficult choices’: Why CMS was the only district excluded from additional COVID-19 funding — In allocating coronavirus relief funding, state officials used a formula that excluded a single, high-poverty school district from supplemental relief money. The Charlotte Observer, April 7, 2020

‘It has been hell’: Mom, other parents say CMS is failing students with special needs — In the last six years, federal officials have repeatedly cited Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for failing to give students a proper education, supervision, transportation and other needed services. In at least 12 cases, the district has agreed to federal monitoring or corrective action. The Charlotte Observer, Aug. 16, 2019 

Acting superintendent takes on latest challenge at CMS after Wilcox’s resignation — Fifteen years ago, Earnest Winston was an Observer reporter covering local government. As he steps in to fill the hole left by his boss's sudden and mysterious resignation, is he ready to lead a district of nearly 150,000 kids? The Charlotte Observer, July 22, 2019

Personal and Non-Fiction Writing

A Sense of Place — A reflection on the best advice I was given as a young journalist from a wise editor, and what it taught me about photographing President Barack Obama and graduating from college. The Dartmouth, June 9, 2017