I think your essay will end up being an interesting read. Not to derail things much but perhaps the ethos is not so much from the place but from the parents. In my experience new parents who care about education, if they can afford it will move into an area with good schools perpetuating this virtue. Of course there are some parents who have a lot of money and stay in locales with poor schools but then send their kids to private schools. I know it seems like one in the same thing but its not. Parent mentality and culture have a huge influence on how education is perceived. Some kifs I grew up with --middle class I'd say, saw school as something in the way of their fun. It was a burden to some extent. But there were a few who saw it as a necessity down the road to an imagined future of success. So parent influence and involvement is key. Some parents think its the school's responsibility --no they are there to supplement parental influence but they very well can't supplant it. You see this in kids who despite parents talking down school seek to do well because they see what their parents don't see or despite parents jealousy, etc.

Regarding the reporter's sincerity about caring, it's hard to tell, it could be just getting brownie points on a topical issue or they may really care. However if they actually really cared and wanted to make a difference doing it from TC does not inspire too much credibility. Typically people who really care move closer to the issue (meaning working on the issue constantly. If I cared about feral cats then I'd be involved directly with doing something about feral cats -- otherwise it's just a nice opinion.