During the week of Nov. 7-10, five Mississippi high school journalism advisers and their students attended the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Philadelphia, Pa. Sponsored by the Journalism Education Association (JEA) and the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), the convention is the nation’s largest gathering for high school journalism. Whether it be working with or observing the congregation of teachers, journalists, or students, each adviser from a Mississippi school had important takeaways they felt were important to both their students and the future of journalism as a whole.
Two of the advisers who attended, Sharin Chumley and Katrina Berry-Ivy, both represented the Tupelo School District. Chumley, now a somewhat veteran to these conventions, commented on how this opportunity has been effective both now and in the past in motivating and improving her student’s work.
“I thought that this was by far one of my favorite conventions,” Chumley said. “The first time I took my students, it was program-changing. My kids came back fired up, and they actually won the top news publication in the state news publication the next year.”
Chumley’s role as a representative on the national mentoring committee was important to her not only as a teacher, but as a leader of her colleagues.
“I think being able to be a representative and just an ambassador for the mentoring program was my biggest takeaway,” Chumley said. “That was my focus for this convention, because I wasn’t there as a teacher of students. I was there more as a mentor of teachers.”
Berry-Ivy shared in the excitement of attending, impressed at the amount of students connecting in the shared umbrella of journalism.
“It was incredible to see so many students passionate about journalism and eager to improve their skills,” Berry-Ivy said.
Berry-Ivy also appreciated being able to meet and work with many other journalism advisers and teachers, something only possible from an event like this.
“For myself, the convention gave me the opportunity to network with journalism instructors from across the country and explore the various approaches they take,” Berry-Ivy said.
That sentiment of how students were exploring their interests and building connections was felt by Terry Cassreino of St. Joseph’s Catholic School, too. Cassreino’s biggest takeaway from the convention was very little for himself, but for his students.
“It was such a great opportunity for students to get off campus and be around so many others with the same interests,” Cassreino said.
Although they were on a trip from Madison, Miss., to Philadelphia, Pa., his students still put together and hosted their weekly newscast, which made Casserino proud.
“It was definitely rewarding watching my students get excited while filming their weekly newscast from Philadelphia,” Cassreino said. “Really it was exciting regardless of what they placed.”
A newcomer to the convention was Amory’s Caleb Watson, who was impressed at the sheer number of students and advisers (estimated around 4,000).
“The convention allowed me to connect with other journalism instructors from around the country to learn the different ways they run their programs, which will definitely help me better run my own,” Watson said.
While the convention was key for students and instructors alike in building relationships and exploring the possibilities of journalism, the significance for the profession of journalism in general is a point that cannot be overstated, Genifer Freeman of Northwest Rankin Middle School says.
“It just inspired me that journalism isn’t dead, that it’s still out there and students are still passionate about learning journalism,” Freeman said. “I went to school for journalism. I worked in journalism for 18 years. So for me, it was like I was with my people, and so that was my big takeaway. I felt validated.”
With the Fall convention concluded, the next JEA/NSPA event will commence in Spring 2025 in Seattle, Wash., then return to Nashville, Tenn., next fall.
