That's when she and Officer Rick Wild headed out in his cruiser to investigate truants and students from families suspected of living outside of town. My patience paid off. Shortly after the school year began, I arranged for myself and Journal photographer Steve Szydlowski to sit in the back of the cruiser while Pellegrino did her thing. I could have done a story based on a sit-down interview with her and the accolades heaped on her by the superintendent and School Committee members. But it wouldn't have taken readers on a ride.
Good stories do that.
They take us on a ride. So I began with the ride. For the next few paragraphs I slowly answered these questions as she gets out of the cruiser, knocks on a door, and confronts the woman who opens it. The pacing even allowed me to include the tense dialogue between Pellegrino and the woman. I made sure to include important numbers, like how many students she's kicked out of the system and how much money she may have saved taxpayers.