2022 Student Journalism Challenge: My Education, My Future

All media created should respond to the theme: My education, my future. This can include exploring some of the big questions and topics below: How is school preparing you for your future? What’s working, and what’s not? How is education adapting to our changing world? What do you want from your education that doesn’t currently exist?

Some ideas to consider:

• Classes that help prepare you for life after high school
• The effects of the pandemic on education
• School safety
• The roles your school plays in your community
• Education and democracy: how schools prepare students to be informed citizens
• How do school districts spend money, what are your school’s priorities and who makes the decisions?
• Equity in education
• Where do you see creativity, innovation and dignity in education?
• How does increased use of social media impact students and education?
• LGBTQ+ and education
• Learning about race and racism
• Public schools, Charter schools, Independent schools, etc.
• How are students learning digital literacy in an era of globalized social media messages?
• Changes in work and career paths
• In what ways are students prepared (or not prepared) for the interconnected world economy?
• DACA, immigration
• Indigenous communities

Reporting strategies to consider:

• Read/watch/listen to news stories about topics that interest you. Explore how those issues are unfolding in your own community.
• Cover a school board meeting, school leadership meetings, or educator professional development sessions.
• Talk to people around you– your family, friends, neighbors, teachers. Ask younger people, older adults, and your peers. What issues do they care about? What questions do they have?
• Review the school budget - what are the priorities and how does student perspectives inform spending decisions?
• Interview a student leader
• Look up local education reporting and email the journalist covering schools - either for the radio, television or print. Ask if you can talk to them about important stories that students should pay attention to.

• Who is eligible? Young people ages 13-18, in grades 8-12 and affiliated with schools, homeschools, or involved with clubs, after school and extracurricular organizations are eligible for consideration. Entrants must be enrolled as full-time students during the submission period.
• Each individual or team must choose to submit in just ONE category, either print, audio, or video.
• All entries must be submitted by an adult on behalf of the young person—a teacher, after school program leader or club advisor, parent, or guardian.
• All submissions must be newly produced and created between August 1 and December 2, 2022.
• All work must be original and student created, produced, and executed. Faculty, educator, or advisor involvement can only be advisory.
• No professional services may have been employed in the production of the submitted work.
• Entries that were produced as a class or extracurricular assignment, or in support of their academic experience may be submitted.
• The entry does not need to have been previously broadcast or published.
• Projects cannot contain copyrighted materials (only public domain, original, or derivative-friendly Creative Commons content was used). All music must be royalty-free. Learn more about copyright here.
• In order for your submission to be considered, you must submit releases for anyone who appears on camera.
• Violent, defamatory, pornographic, or offensive material is not accepted. The interpretation of the judging panel is final and absolute.
• Ineligible entries may be disqualified during any phase of the competition.

The deadline to submit to this challenge is December 2, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

• To enter, complete the submission form, which will be available here by early September. All submissions must be newly produced and created between August 1 and December 2, 2022. Entries that have been published during this time (e.g. on a school website or in another publication) will be considered.
• All entries must be submitted by an adult on behalf of the young person—a teacher, after school program leader or club advisor, parent, or guardian.
• PRINT
  • Upload your written piece of journalism and an accompanying photo or other image into the form.
  • Entries should be at maximum 500 words. Entries over 500 words will not be accepted.
• AUDIO
  • Audio pieces should be no longer than 4 minutes. Acceptable file types include .aiff or .wav, or a link to published work.
  • The audio piece should be at most 4 minutes. Entries over the 4 minute limit will not be accepted.
• VIDEO
  • Acceptable file types include: .mp4, etc. OR all entries must be uploaded to YouTube and submitted via form link.
  • The video piece should be at most 4 minutes. Entries over the 4 minute limit will not be accepted.
  • 1280 x 720 or higher resolution
  • Video should be in 16:9 aspect ratio
• All video submissions must include media releases for all student producers AND anyone who is interviewed in the piece. Student producers will submit their release via DocuSign during the submission process. ALL interviewees need to sign a release form, which should be uploaded during the submission process as well.

Students are also encouraged to publish their stories on their school/club/program website or through video/social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or Twitter and tag Student Reporting Labs, in addition to submitting

FACEBOOK: /STUDENTREPORTINGLABS

TWITTER: @REPORTINGLABS

INSTAGRAM: @STUDENTREPORTINGLABS

TIKTOK: @REPORTINGLABS

• The Student Reporting Labs team and panel of judges will review submissions to ensure they meet the criteria above and meet all qualifications. Disqualified applicants will not move forward in the process.
• Using a rubric, a panel of judges in the journalism field will review the most compelling pieces that get at the heart of the prompts above.
• Thirty finalists—ten finalists each from audio, video, and print—will be selected by the judging panel. Six total winners (two from each category: audio, video, and print) and six honorable mentions (two from each category: audio, video, and print) will be announced in early 2023