Working with

Administrators for

Stronger Media

By Clare Kirwan and Dr. Michael Richards

Harrisonburg High School

Meet Us!

Clare Kirwan

Dr. Michael Richards

HHS Media Editor-in-Chief

HCPS Superintendent

Eyes Up!

First Amendment

Editorial Policy

News Literacy

Know your press rights

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

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-First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

Get the First Amendment into your classroom!

What does this mean for student journalists?

The U.S. Supreme Court states…

However

Students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the schoolhouse gate,

School officials may prohibit speech that substantially disrupts the school environment or that invades the rights of others.

School Speech vs. Free Speech

VS

The right to do or say something in a school setting

School Speech

Free Speech

The right of people to express themselves without the fear of repercussion from the government

Journalistic Limitations

Student journalists can still be held accountable for what you say on and off campus

• The supreme court emphasized that the situations when public schools reach into the private lives of students are sharply limited

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• Schools can censor student speech that “materially disrupts” school operation and discipline even if that speech occurs outside of school

Our duty as journalists

Journalists have the right to be critical of people in power and expose corruption on a public scale.

EQ: How do we work with administrators to protect preexisting relationships and report the truth?

This requires people in authoritarian positions to give up some of their power in controlling school speech when it comes to journalists.

Here’s where the ethics come in…

• Do not act on emotions
• Research to find the facts, verify the facts and then report the facts
• Don’t piece together bits of information out of anger
• Tell the full story

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DON’T FORGET: Student journalists come from a student perspective, the administrators may have a completely different outlook

Editorial Policy

• Your editorial board should know the editorial policy

Establishing a rapport

Reach Out

Standing Meetings

Talk about the lighthearted stuff too

Celebrate one another!

01

02

03

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Your administration should know your name!

Schedule monthly check-ins

Your administrators can be fun too!

They want to know what your staff is up to!

Take advantage of every opportunity you have to build connections!

Prioritize difficult, good reporting

• Our staff experiences with investigative reporting

A deep dive into drug use as self medication

01

Perspectives:

What could we have done better?

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• Principal
• Counselor
• Biology Teacher
• Psychology Teacher
• One student feature
• Solutions

A culture of physical altercations

02

What could we have done better?

Perspectives:

• Administration (Principal and assistant principals)
• SROs
• Four student features
• One parent feature
• One teacher feature

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A review of HCPS gun violence protocols

03

What could we have done better?

Perspectives:

• Administration (Superintendent, principal, dean of students, athletic director)
• 9 student features
• Schoolwide safety survey
• Two parent features
• One teacher feature
• Solutions, history, trends

THANKS!

Does anyone have any questions?

claremadeline@gmail.com or +1 540 746 6608

mrichards@harrisonburg.k12.va.us

hhsmedia.com

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