co-sponsored by The Headline Club
News Story
First Place
Holly Thorpe
The Apple Leaf, Wenatchee HS, Wenatchee, Wash.
Searching for closure and answers
Judge’s comments: This is good journalism. There was a drowning, we get the harrowing play-by-play, and there was no praising of administrators or teachers who didn’t notice a dead child at the bottom of the swimming pool for at least 45 minutes. A story like this could be two sentences from a district press release, something like “a freshman died in the third period today, the district is investigating.” Instead, we get the sad truth.
Second Place
Charlotte Wright
RamPage, Englewood HS, Jacksonville, Fla.
Teen pregnancies higher in failing schools
Judge’s comments: This story reminds of me of that insightful line from The Great Gatsby: “The rich get richer and the poor get… Children.” I like the line from the student about the kids at D and F schools with their hoodies and headphones on and their heads down. It’s evocative. great reporting.
Third Place
Nida Ashraf
Vanguard, Stevenson HS, Sterling Heights, Mich.
Crowding hurts learning
Judge’s comments: Two classes being taught in one room? It’s outrageous and worth documenting. I loved the line from the principal about the “false hype,” of the overcrowded classrooms. It begs the following question: with many high school students does she share her office?
Fourth Place
Erin Kelly
The Talon Times, Lakes Community HS, Lake Villa, Ill.
Tampering takes toll
Judge’s comments: What makes this a good story is the access to the teacher’s husband. The reporting was thorough and the story was fair.
Fifth Place
Agnessa Kasumyan
Tornado Times, Hoover HS, Glendale, Calif.
ACLU files lawsuit against administrators, police for ‘racial profiling’
Judge’s comments: This story could run in a major metropolitan newspaper. The district’s response is well-captured, especially since the district spokesman doesn’t deny that the outrageous bit happened. In fact, the spokesman seems to be OK with innocent students being led to a classroom and made to feel like criminals by the police.
Honorable Mention
Kiana Jackson
MavLife, La Costa Canyon HS, Carlsbad, Calif.
I don’t know but I’ve been told
Judge’s comments: That there’s a military test given to high school kids during the school day who don’t know that it’s for the military is ridiculous. What’s also a little concerning is that No Child Left Behind lets the military access personal information about 15-year-olds through their high schools. I had no idea and this article dealt with the issue in a clear and fair way. Good work.
Honorable Mention
Madeline Bartsch
The Scratching Post, Vernon Hills HS, Vernon Hills, Ill.
Is their season down the drain
Judge’s comments: This article manages to tell a colorful, somewhat outrageous story. District officials drop the ball and the kids suffer? That’s good journalism. Every time.
Honorable Mention
Crystal Montgomery
The World, Topeka HS, Topeka, Kan.
Judge’s comments: Twitter is a thing, kids love it, and parody accounts are “trending.” Getting to the bottom of a teacher parody account is a fun, topical story. It doesn’t change the world, but good reporting doesn’t have to. It tells the truth, and that’s all it needs to do.
Honorable Mention
Matt Pitlock, Nick Cruz, Lindsey Scullen
The Source, Stoney Creek HS, Rochester Hills, Mich.
Economic storm sinks RCS finances
Judge’s comments: Good writing here. I loved the lede. I could picture “The Duke,” smiling at the kids when he knows that his livelihood is about to be privatized. The story does a good job explaining how the district got to that point where all of the janitors are being let go.
Honorable Mention
Max Marshall
The ReMarker, St. Mark’s School of Texas, Dallas, Texas
‘Lion tracks’ policy revised to allow same-sex dates
Judge’s comments: The story takes its cue from the precise, to-the-point lede. The rest of the story follows in a clear, readable fashion. This could have been a boring story about a tweaked rule change, but the reporter dug deeper and it read well.
Feature Story
First Place
Ry Faraola, Zoe Gregozek, Acacia Lommen-Nelson, Lucy Saldavia, Adriana Brock
Ink, Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Next to Normal
Second Place
Staff
The Courier, Olentangy Orange HS, Lewis Center, Ohio
Close to home: A look at sex trafficking in Central Ohio
Third Place
Samantha Schmidt
Trojan Tribune, Wayzata HS, Plymouth, Minn.
Recovering with Jack Jablonski
Fourth Place
Casey Digan
Evanstonian, Evanston Township HS, Evanston, Ill.
Incarceration death
Fifth Place
Alexis Townsend
RamPage, Englewood HS, Jacksonville, Fla.
Turning against fate
Honorable Mention
Lena Felton
The Voice, Marin Academy, San Rafael, Calif.
Back to where is all began with Glady Thacher
Honorable Mention
Madelyn Carlson
Carpe Diem, Decatur HS, Decatur, Ga.
I want to eat your brains
Honorable Mention
Rolland Long
U-High Midway, University HS, Chicago, Ill.
Defenders of the red, white and blue
Honorable Mention
Lily Lieberman
The North Star, Blue Valley North HS, Overland Park, Kan.
Journey to sobriety
Honorable Mention
Savannah Rattanavong
Indian, Shawnee Mission North HS, Overland Park, Kan.
Part of Life: Students, staff express how they cope with the loss of loved ones
Sports Story
First Place
Chris Heady
The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, Kan.
Finding inner strength
Second Place
Jessica Dankenbring
Eagle Quill, Eaglecrest HS, Centennial, Colo.
Soccer welcomes new season with open arms
Third Place
Drew Souders
Spark, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio
The sisterhood of success
Fourth Place
Josie Graham
The Muse, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, West Palm Beach, Fla.
The real stairmaster workout: SDOA edition
Fifth Place
Michael McKenna
The Pacer, Rolling Meadows HS, Rolling Meadows, Ill.
One of the guys
Honorable Mention
Peter Hughes, Clayton Marsh
The Standard, American School in London, London, England
What doesn’t kill you
Honorable Mention
Imani Sanders
Englewood High School Rampage, Englewood HS, Jacksonville, Fla.
Surrogate brothers
Honorable Mention
Theodore Kopacz
Drops of Ink, Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.
Don’t count the days
Honorable Mention
Mike Palmer
The Central Times, Naperville Central HS, Naperville, Ill.
Hawks fly together
Honorable Mention
Ali Staples
The Express, Blue Valley Northwest HS, Overland Park, Kan.
Taking her rightful place
Editorial/Opinion
First Place
Ahmed Aedan
RamPage, Englewood HS, Jacksonville, Fla.
A righteous fight
Second Place
Mikeala Axton
The Stagg Line, Amos Alonzo Stagg HS, Stockton, Calif.
Provocative ads corrupt values
Third Place
Tom Storch
Arapahoe Herald, Arapahoe HS, Centennial, Colo.
A corporation may be a person, but Mitt Romney is not
Fourth Place
Forest Liao
El Estoque, Monta Vista HS, Cupertino, Calif.
Scouting for rights
Fifth Place
Frances Hoekstra
Talon, Minnehaha Academy, Minneapolis, Minn.
Hold off on the hits
Honorable Mention
Karyna Rodriguez
Blueprint, Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.
Honorable Mention
Yasmin Gentry
The Central Times, Naperville Central HS, Naperville, Ill.
We must do more
Honorable Mention
HiLite Staff
The HiLite, Carmel HS, Carmel, Ind.
New 90/10 policy not good fit for all students
Honorable Mention
Crystal Montgomery
The World, Topeka HS, Topeka, Kan.
Martin Luther King assembly blurs line between church and school
Honorable Mention
Alyssa Laiacona
The Liberty Tribune, Liberty HS, Henderson, Nev.
Diversity
First Place
Gabrielle Abesamis
Niles West News, Niles West HS, Skokie, Ill.
Bryan Taico: not just ‘the Kid with the UGGs’
Judge’s comments: The reporter did a masterful job of telling the story of one teen’s coming out through simple, clear writing backed up by solid multi-source reporting. The variety of interviews and the timely news peg elevated this story beyond many of the other compelling entries that contained just one source. This is a model of good journalism for student journalists and adults alike to emulate.
Second Place
Lindsey Walker
The HiLite, Carmel HS, Carmel, Ind.
Mormonism in the mainstream
Third Place
Kelly Benning, K.C. McConnell
The Spoke, Conestoga HS, Berwyn, Pa.
Revealing a religion
Fourth Place
Max Marshall, Ross Crawford
The ReMarker, St. Mark’s School of Texas, Dallas, Texas
Girl Talk
Fifth Place
Erica Nitschke
Hi-Herald, Bismarck HS, Bismarck, N.D.
I am human
Honorable Mention
Leila Miller
The Boiling Point, Shalhevet HS, Los Angeles, Calif.
HAREDI: Behind the label is a world apart
Honorable Mention
Hannah Madonia
The Central Times, Naperville Central HS, Naperville, Ill.
White washed
Honorable Mention
Hanaa Ashraf
The Howl, Clarksburg HS, Clarksburg, Md.
Muslim students praying for a room
Honorable Mention
Drew Souders
Spark, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio
Bonding on the front lines
Honorable Mention
Lizzie Friedman
Featherduster, Westlake HS, Austin, Texas
The road less traveled