High Five

The NAA Foundation encourages middle schools to seek funding to start or sustain student newspapers, whether online or in print.

All public and private middle schools serving grades six through eight are eligible to apply.

Selected grant schools will:

• Launch or sustain a middle-school newspaper;
• Agree to use the NAA Foundation's High Five curriculum as a cornerstone of the newspaper effort;
• Receive funding of up to $2,000.

Schools are also encouraged to seek a professional newspaper and/or a university or college as partners.

The NAA Foundation especially welcomes grant applications from urban, rural or minority-majority schools.

Funding Guidelines

Successful applicants will:

• Foster an open exchange of journalistically sound information, news and opinion in the school community;
• Use any part or all of High Five: The Integrated Language Arts and Journalism Curriculum, which includes lesson plans linked to national standards designed to introduce middle-school students to journalism concepts, media literacy and newspaper production.
• Provide all required completed documents, including the anticipated budget; and
• Provide a detailed outline describing activity structure (class, after school), number of projected student participants, anticipated activities (workshops, field trips, guest speakers), projected publication schedule and a description of the role of the professional newspaper and any additional partner(s).

Projects will be selected based upon:

• Defined level of need;
• Plan for effectively providing the school community with fact-based news, information and opinions;
• Submission of a budget that details projected fund expenditures and targets long-term needs;
• Outlined level of professional newspaper and additional partner commitment (if applicable); and
• Prospects for long-term success beyond the grant.

Timeline and Funding

Each grant recipient may receive up to $2,000. Suggested uses for funding include – but are not limited to – adviser training and technology purchases.

The NAA Foundation will provide a grant document to be signed by the publication’s adviser and school principal that outlines the project, details disbursement of the funds, includes a timetable for publication and demonstrates the school’s commitment to the effort.

Reporting Requirements

Grant recipients must publish the first issue within six months of obtaining funding. In addition, they must publish at least three and preferably four or more issues during the school year.

Grant recipients must report on their progress, provide feedback on their use of the “High Five” curriculum and be willing to be considered for inclusion on the program of a professional educational conference.

Deadline

The deadline to apply for 2011 High Five grants has passed. For more information about this program, contact Sandy Woodcock at sandy.woodcock@naa.org or 571.366.1008begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            571.366.1008      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.