SPRING 2012
Adviser Update
Page 21A
Hit the Panic Button!
By CANDACE
PERKINS BOWEN
and JOHN BOWEN
press rights
P
Rights Commission subcommittee that developed the process]
focused on four key goals:
• A consistent method of
reporting
• A process that works quickly
• A tool for collecting data
• A way to avoid overlap and
prevent harm.”
When the adviser hits the
panic button and files a report, he
or she instantly gets a check sheet
with steps to take – like “Take
a deep breath — you have support” and “Keep a paper trail.” A
student can hit the Panic Button,
too, and the check sheet he or she
gets is a little different, including,
“Contact the Student Press Law
Center,” and “Get parental and
other student support.”
Then there’s the process. Right
Continued from page 18A
P01.V52.I4
Newton said there are still
areas common to students, areas
that students want explored: connecting with teachers; cultural
issues; and monitoring state and
national issues. These affect students in different ways. Students
like to see other students’ ideas
about these matters.
Included with each story is a
comment space so any reader can
black
“There is definitely a learning
curve for new staff.”
One very common question
students ask at journalism conventions such as the JEA/ NSPA
conventions is “Where do we find
good stories?” If that looms among
staffs that encounter their readers
every hour of every day, it might
seem impossible among students
who expect never to meet.
did she send an article back to
its author. She said she loved the
absence of stress. She didn’t worry
about meeting printer deadlines.
She just focused on the stories.
Florida Virtual School is accredited by the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools and by
the Commission on International
and Trans-Regional Accreditation. The core course curriculum is
approved by NCAA. (Electives are
not as they are not part of college
entrance requirements.) To date,
students have completed more
than 1 million courses.
See the school site at www.flvs.
net
See the newspaper at
http://66.147.244.54/~flvsnet/
wordpress/
cyan
The concept of a totally virtual
school is relatively new. This one
started in 1997. Now it offers more
than 125 courses. In the 20102011 school year students earned
259,928 half credits.
Students enroll for as many
different reasons as geographic
locations. Teachers also live across
the nation.
Newton had helped her college
paper move online, but she said
not having a hard copy as a base
was a challenge at first. “Now
after four years, I wouldn’t know
what to do with myself,” she said.
respond to any story.
The paper was produced on
Weebly, but has moved to Word
Press. Lupfer has stayed as an
intern to help in the transition to
Word Press.
She said the staff has no prior
review of copy or pictures. Parents
may request that their children’s
photos or names not be used, but
the school administration does not
ask to see either copy or photos
before publication.
The publishing schedule calls
for a new issue monthly, but the
staff regularly makes changes
weekly. Of course, changes can be
made anytime if needed,
Lupfer said the staff includes
students from seventh to 12th
grades. Only once during her term
John Bowen, MJE,
chairs the JEA Scholastic Press
Rights Commission. He is an
adjunct professor in journalism at
Kent State University. He can be
reached at School of JMC, 201B
Franklin Hall, Kent, OH 44242.
Phone: 330-672-3666. E-mail:
[email protected].
magenta
school
Candace Perkins Bowen,
MJE,
directs the Center for Scholastic
Journalism and the Ohio Scholastic Media Association and is an
assistant professor at Kent State
University. She can be reached at
School of JMC, 201B Franklin Hall,
Kent, OH 44242. Phone: 330672-8297. E-mail: cbowen@kent.
edu.
yellow
rincipal Jones got wind of the
article about your cafeteria
failing a county health inspection. Your staff members really
talked through all they should
do it make coverage credible and
accurate and good journalism.
But now the principal says you
can’t run that story. What??!
We’re being censored! Help! What
should we do?
Hit the Panic Button!
Literally, that’s the first step
members of JEA’s Scholastic
Press Rights Commission suggest
after they worked out a process to
help advisers and students with
censorship problems.
Not that others haven’t been
able to help before, but a survey of
JEA state directors and scholastic
press association heads showed
some concern about just what to
tell those who reach out to them
for help. It sounded like everyone
needed a simple, easy-to-remember approach.
This online tool allows commission members to gather information from
an adviser or student journalist
about his or her situation, then
set in motion a series of steps to
provide support.
As JEA vice president and
commission member Sarah Nichols reported in an email to state
and regional directors and board
members, “We [a Scholastic Press
away, a commission member
with backgroun