National news sources have been speaking highly of one high school newspaper since they broke a story that impacted their entire school.
Students at Pittsburg High School recently uncovered secrets about their newly instated principal, Amy Robertson, during what was supposed to be a cut-and-dry interview. Members of the Booster Redux, a student-run newspaper, planned on writing an article introducing their new principal to the student body. The focus of the story quickly shifted after the students realized that Robertson had some flaws in her credentials.
The students discovered a problem; they learned that the college Robertson claimed to have gotten her degrees from, Corllins University, was not only unaccredited, but also absent of a phone number or address for the university. Robertson was questioned by the students about their findings and was said to be inconsistent and unable to give clear answers.
During their investigation, students also encountered articles claiming that Robertson had violated educational guidelines at the school she worked previously in Dubai. After making this discovery, the journalists reached out to their school’s superintendent, but they were shot down. The superintendent said the students shouldn’t worry about the information they had discovered.
After the article was published, Robertson declined. A statement from the school read, “In light of the issues that arose, Dr. Robertson felt it was in the best interest of the district to resign her position.” Many are now wondering how these flaws were able to pass those hiring Robertson. Maddie Baden, co-editor of the newspaper, said, “At first we were confused about the whole situation, but we were also very confident. We had to be, in order to publish the story. We knew we had all the right facts.”
This story has served as an inspiration to journalists around the country. Pleasant Valley students are also impressed. Ryan Thompson, senior, recently took a journalism class at PV. Thompson said, “I learned a lot in journalism, but I never knew that students had the ability to report on a story that would have such an impact.”
