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DIGITALNEWS

LITERACYPROJECT

in partnership with

University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC

An initiative from

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The Opportunity

  • Provide free digital subscriptions to teachers and students
  • Like a “digital” Newspapers in Education

Equitable Access to Local News

01.

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC

  • Student, teacher-curated digital vertical
  • Anti-disinformation lab
  • Workshops in classrooms to empower students to become a generation of conscious content creators and consumers

Education and Curriculum

02.

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THE GAP

“Communication, information, media and technology” is a proficiency skill identified nationwide in state and Common Core standards.

S.C. Department of Education adopts Computer Science and Digital Literacy Standards for every grade K-8

20

17

There is no official test or method of accountability for these standards.

BUT

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC

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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Get buy-in from community and access to classrooms

Build team and curriculum

Launch local pilot and develop best practices

Scale Program

Free digital subscriptions to TheItem.com to teachers and their students

Create and implement

responsible content creator and anti-disinformation workshops

Create digital vertical for students and teachers to curate and publish their own content

Expand the success of this pilot program to other communities across S.C.,

rural America

A Pilot for Rural America

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC

*USC partnership

✔️

✔️

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What’s it going to TAKE?

$65,000 for a Project Director. Work with The Sumter Item’s executive team to develop and implement the project, overseeing and editing other team members. This person should have management experience.

$50,000 for a Community Liaison. Help coordinate with schools and community partners and will manage the student/teacher vertical. This person should have some newsroom and education experience.

$50,000 for a Project Analyst. Maintain and analyze data associated with project goals to report outcomes and accomplishments.

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC

$25,000 for Audio/Video Equipment & Tech Stack to develop, implement and cover the project and its initiatives.

$1,500 per 25-student classroom to fund access codes to TheItem.com for one year.

$50,000 for a Project Analyst. Maintain and analyze data associated with project goals to report outcomes and accomplishments.

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Funding Needed

Four-person team. Teacher/classroom access, project equipment/resources, curriculum development.

Sumter Pilot

Using developed curriculum, best practices and training, hire one liaison between newsroom and schools.

Subsequent Roll-Outs

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC

$50,000

$240,000

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Our Team

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC

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Our Allies

Tom Reichart

Dean of College of Information and Communications

​

University of South Carolina

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC

Sumter School District’s Student Advisory Committee

​

?

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Our Allies

Tom Reichart

Dean of College of Information and Communications

​

University of South Carolina

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC

Sumter School District’s Student Advisory Committee

​

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THANKS

The Sumter Item’s Digital News Literacy Project

Questions?

Vince Johnson, Publisher

Kayla Green, Executive Editor

Micah Green, Chief Digital Officer

The Sumter Item, Sumter, SC