Students Take Their Newspapers to the Edge

Double the instructor, double the fun.

Taking Your Newspaper to the Edge is the only class at MIPA-palooza with two instructors, Tracy Anderson and C.E. Sikkenga. And working with those two instructors, 24 seasoned high school journalists chose this class to revamp their newspapers–making it more edgy and contemporary than ever before.

This advanced class brought a dynamic group of young reporters together, all coming from diverse journalism backgrounds and experiences and all coming for different reasons.

According to Zac Sharp from Dexter High School, “This year, [our staff] lost 33 seniors and our advisor, who has been working with us for fifteen years. Only five experienced students are returning and the rest of the staff are all new people. As editors, we thought it was necessary to get in touch with the field of design and make our paper the best it can be.”

Anderson, in her third year instructing this class, says that her favorite part is seeing students utilize their creativity and seeing them leave with tangible material to contribute to their high school papers.

In a typical class period, instructors provide short lessons such as fonts, contemporary design, and worthy content–tips useful for any level of journalism. Then students are sent off on their own to brainstorm, apply their new skills, and redesign past works.

“In three words, this class would be intelligent, engaging, and inspirational,” said Anderson.