School newspaper wins national recognition
By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published May 4, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG - John Hopkins Middle School has won a national award for its student newspaper, the JHop Times.
The school staff learned Monday that Time magazine and Time for Kids have awarded the publication the top prize in the middle school category in the 2005 National Student Publishing Awards.
Hopkins was among 35 middle schools that entered the contest.
"I went to the Web site and there it was," assistant principal Jean Smith said. "As far as I know, we're the only John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg."
The award was a surprise, Smith said, because the issue she submitted for the competition, published on Jan. 11, was the school's second effort.
"We started the newspaper last year as part of the language arts class and expanded it this year into a program in its own right," Smith said.
"This is the first year it's been on our master schedule. It's our first full year of having a bona fide journalism program."
Smith credited the program's teachers, all of whom are former journalists, for the paper's success.
"They are artists in residence, that's how I look at them," she said. "They bring their craft to the classroom."
There are two sides to Hopkins' journalism program, said journalism coordinator and former St. Petersburg Times copy editor Kathleen Tobin. The daily journalism side offers five classes, each of which has about 30 students. The other component offers students weekly journalism sessions.
"Basically, everyone is separated into advertising, reporting or photojournalism," Tobin said. "But everyone gets a chance to do a little bit of everything."
John Hopkins is part of an intensive journalism program developed in partnership with the Times. The Times provides staffer resources and funding for the program.
JHop's two yearly issues are distributed to all students and faculty. Copies also are sent to School Board employees, including the superintendent and deputy superintendent, University of South Florida St. Petersburg staff, and faculty at the Poynter Institute.
"We want to let them know our journalism program is off the ground and that we're going strong," Smith said.
She praised the students for their journalistic integrity and their insistence on publishing more than just "positive" news about the school. Recently, the students wrote about a fight that prompted the cancellation of a track and field event, Smith said. They also have published opinion pieces that contradict the school district's dress code policy.
"We try to keep things very honest," she said. "We don't just cover things that make the school look good."
Piney Ridge Elementary School in Eldersburg, Md., was the national winner in the elementary school category. Rockville High School in Rockville, Md., won in the high school category. Four other schools were recognized as regional winners at each level.
Each national winner will receive $2,000 in cash, $500 for classroom products and a workshop presented by a Time or a Time for Kids editor. The winning papers will be recognized at an awards ceremony June 7 in Washington, D.C.