SpartanShield.org has been a more recent feature in Pleasant Valley’s journalism department. The website is just over a year old; it was introduced as a ‘test run’ prototype to see just how well a student-run website could run in a high school classroom. The results have been nothing but positive. The online website has produced current, newsworthy events all written by high schoolers and will continue for years to come.
Maureen Dyer, journalism adviser, knew Pleasant Valley needed an online news source when she attended journalism conferences and it became clear that an online publication was the easiest way to keep up with the times. In 2016, The Spartan Shield Online was born, more commonly known as ‘Honors Journalism’ in the high school curriculum. “I wanted to create a class that could be a student-led and allow students to practice leadership skills they will most definitely need in real life,” Dyer shared. The class itself runs as an actual newsroom would, complete with job titles and publication deadlines. Each student is assigned an individual job such as photo manager, copy editor or section editor— all jobs that are featured in a real newsroom. The students work together on each article to move it down the line of publication. “Each job is vital to the successful operation of our website,” Dyer said.
“We cover a wide variety of stories in an effort to interest as many students as possible. I also see this [the website] as an opportunity for high school students to be exposed to what’s happening around the world,” Dyer said. The Spartan Shield online features seven different news categories: News, Feature, Opinion, Sports, Arts and Entertainment, Student Life and Video. Each category has a section editor assigned to ensure satisfactory publication, and two co-editors in chief to oversee the website as a whole.
Grading is a lot different than most high school English classes. The students’ grades in the class are evaluated on the quality of work published, effectiveness in their assigned positions and their contribution to the news team as a whole. This includes turning in articles on time, writing satisfactory work and completing individual tasks for each job title.
The hard work of the Honors Journalism students has paid off. After being a news site for only one year, Spartan Shield claimed the 3rd place student news site in IHSPA Spring Journalism Contests. Additionally, in 2016 and 2017, Spartan Shield staff members snagged 1st place in the “on the spot” news writing competition held at the University of Iowa.
Dyer shared, “In most other English classes, students work so hard on their writing and no one looks at it again after the teacher grades it. The Spartan Shield online is a unique opportunity for students to show their homework to the world.”
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