Countless alumni of the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute have used the skills it taught to do amazing things, including winning the Dow Jones News Fund Teacher of the Year Award and revamping entire journalism programs. Administered by the American Society of News Editors’ Youth Journalism Initiative, the Institute offers on-campus and online instruction and hands-on experience alongside scholastic-journalism experts. It has more than 2,200 alumni, all of whom have improved their school communities and journalism departments thanks to the Institute.

Click here to apply to the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute.

After attending the Institute, Bob Satnan, a journalism teacher in the Sedalia School District 200 in Missouri and former editor of the Sedalia Democrat, has been involved in an impressive project called Rookie Reporters.

“The seed for Rookie Reporters was born during my fellowship at the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute,” Satnan said. “As I created a list of 10 story ideas for my students, I realized the topics would be of value to our community at large, not just the high school population. Having experienced staffing cutbacks when I was editor of a daily paper, I knew our city’s newspaper would welcome additional relevant, local content. Not only did the paper welcome my students’ stories, but also its readers have embraced Rookie Reporters’ reports.”

Rookie Reporters encourages students at Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia to report and write stories of relevance to the entire community. These stories are then published with their bylines in the Democrat. Like professional journalists, the students interview sources, use journalistic writing styles and meet deadlines. The program emphasizes accuracy, objectivity and keeping the community informed.

Students’ stories have covered significant topics, including concussion protocols for student athletes, a school-wide seatbelt safety program and a breakdown of the high rate of turnover recently among varsity head coaches. Students also have learned how to write opinion pieces on controversial topics, including college admissions and teen dating.

Rookie Reporters has partnered with the Reynolds Journalism Institute and hopes to get high school students writing for professional newspapers in other communities.

“The Reynolds High School Journalism Institute provided foundational information for me in my transition from the newsroom to the classroom,” Satnan said. “I was surrounded by outstanding, highly motivated educators who helped me understand how to build my curriculum.”