1st Place, News Page or Spread
2021-22, Division 4-5, News Design & Info Graphic
By Kaitlyn James
Uncaged
Stockbridge HS
The pandemic has taken a toll on our workers, educators and students, mentally
and physically.
“That was like legitimately my New Year’s resolution, just to learn how to be
comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Christina Villegas high school Spanish
teacher said.
Schools all over the state of Michigan have been closing because of staff shortages
and even student shortages. Why is this happening? This question has a couple
answers based on who you ask. These staff shortages cause more than school and
business temporary closures.
Staff in schools have been on high demand. Schools are losing their staff for a
couple different reasons. A big reason is that they have been stretching themselves
thin for the past two years helping kids, but also trying to keep up with their even
unpredictable life with COVID-19 like having to see students over screens, then
later in person but also having some kids still online. Nobody knows how the days
are going to go or the months ahead.
Teachers are required to create assignments, notes and tests for both online
and in person students. This can be frustrating and time consuming, especially
since not just school time is being used but teachers are school planning when
they should be focused on their home life. Though some people believe that it is
because teachers don’t get paid enough for the work that they do for students. But,
if that were true, staff shortages would be affecting only the educators, yet they
are also being seen in the lunch staff, bus drivers, and office workers. That have
been moving schools or not present because COVID-19 circumstances.
Having a shortage of teachers and subs is not the only effect of this surge of
people not working around the state.
School lunches have become unpredictable. “We get in there. We don’t know
what’s going on,” senior Jaslyn Wilkins said of the lunchroom. “We don’t know if
we’re gonna have more than just a burger and Bosco sticks for lunch.”
Living in a small town can make it even harder to find extra items at grocery
stores like some schools are starting to do so they can feed all of their students.
“There has been a shortage of food and other implements like trays, condiments,
juice, etc.” according to a piece in The New York Times. Supply-chain disruptions
have snarled more than just school lunches.
Since this school year started, administration has been introducing new faces to
our school to expand our community but also to help bring relief to the shortage
of staff and teachers. One of the new teachers is
Alexandra Doering has been working alongside Elizabeth Cyr as she comes
close to her retirement and passes her torch after twenty two and a half years of
teaching journalism. Seventeen teachers have joined the administration during the
2021 year and 7 long-term substitute teachers have signed on.
ND-10. News Page or Spread
Pages will be evaluated for content and design. Content is restricted to news. Advertising may or may not be included on these pages. Entry may be a single page or a two-page spread, in which two adjacent pages have been designed as a single unit to showcase a single article or a package of related articles. Submit a PDF of the print newspaper or magazine page(s).
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Most important story is in top half of page
- Graphic devices, if used, contribute to overall impact of page
- Design reflects effective graphic style, personality of publication
- Strong visual center of interest
- Consistent use of headline styles/typefaces
- Strong visual center of interest
- Content covers appropriate, timely issues/topics
- Stories written in sound, journalistic style
- Headlines get smaller as they go down the page