Journalism Education Association

If you feel your school actively supports and honors the First Amendment through its student media, consider submitting an entry for this year’s First Amendment Press Freedom Award. Please note the award looks at the entire student media program at the school: digital and print newspaper, yearbook and student broadcast.

To apply, a school must submit two questionnaires – one from a student and one from a teacher. Each submitter will need to create a Submittable account.

This award recognizes a teacher who, through the teaching and/or advising of journalism, inspired others to pursue journalism teaching as a career and who has made a positive difference in the teaching community. It was named after Linda S. Puntney, JEA’s executive director from 1989-2010.

JEA gives this award to retirees for lifetime dedication to journalism education in the form of advising or other contributions to the profession. Scholastic press associations and individuals who are JEA members are encouraged to submit names of retirees in their state. Multiple awards may be presented each year.

The Journalism Education Association sponsors a $1,500 scholarship fund for current advisers who intend to earn a secondary administrator’s credential/license and seek a position in administration. Each recipient must be a current JEA member and student media adviser who is in or past their fourth year of teaching and advising. The committee may award smaller scholarships to multiple people. The award may be renewed one time with a total limit of $1,500 per person.

The Journalism Education Association’s Diversity Award honors a scholastic journalism teacher, student media adviser or scholastic journalism group demonstrating a commitment to cultural awareness and encouraging a multicultural approach with its student media staff, media production and/or community. The honoree must be in the forefront in promoting diversity in the scholastic media arena and must have taken steps to break down walls of misunderstanding and ignorance.

DEADLINE: The application must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Central time Oct. 15, for consideration for the H.L. Hall National Yearbook Adviser of the Year Award.

The National High School Yearbook Adviser of the Year program is designed to honor outstanding high school advisers and their exemplary work from the previous year, as well as throughout their careers.

The application process will be an all-digital submission.

A selection panel, made up of the most recently selected Yearbook Adviser of the Year and a team of four student-media experts, will review the entries immediately following the submission deadline. Points will be awarded based on a rubric, and the top advisers will be named the H.L. Hall National Yearbook Adviser of the Year, Distinguished Yearbook Adviser or Special Recognition Yearbook Adviser.

Announcement of winners will be made in December. Winners will be recognized during the awards luncheon at the Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention where the Yearbook Adviser of the Year will speak. The Yearbook Adviser of the Year and Distinguished Advisers will be featured in the convention program and will be part of a panel discussion about yearbooks.

A $500 award for the winner's school, and up to four $500 awards for Distinguished Advisers' schools may be used to buy equipment for the yearbook classroom or to fund student scholarships to summer workshops. The Yearbook Adviser of the Year will have his or her travel and hotel paid for the convention when he or she receives the award. In addition, the recipient also will receive a personal $1,000 prize.

The National Yearbook Adviser of the Year competition is underwritten by

• Balfour Yearbooks, Herff Jones Inc., Jostens Inc., Walsworth Yearbooks