A school newspaper is an excellent way to get students interested in the news as well as issues in the community and the world. A school newspaper also gives your students a voice and helps them to become better writers.

School newspapers provide a platform for students to express their ideas and creativity. It helps to develop their critical thinking skills. It can also be instrumental in building peer-to-peer relationships, while shaping their perspectives, opinion and identity.

6 reasons why your school should start a student-run newspaper:

• Give your students a voice – Empower your students by encouraging them to get involved by reporting on news within the school and the community. Students need to feel that their opinions matter. By having them write news stories and editorials, you are providing them with a platform to voice their opinions on important topics.
• Improve Writing Skills – When students are able to write about subjects that they are passionate about, they become better writers in the process. Allowing them to choose their own topics will get them excited about writing. Involving them in the editing/revisions process also teaches them to become better writers.
• Boosts Awareness of Current Events – There is a lot going on in the world right now. Students should be aware of big news stories. This is also a great opportunity to teach them how to find reputable, unbiased news sources as well as to recognize the difference between an editorial piece and a news report.
• Improves Communication – Student-run newspapers are a great way to build communication between all groups in the school. As they come together, interact, brainstorm, they develop and improve peer-to-peer relationships. In this high-tech digital world that we currently live in, it seems that socializing and face-to-face communication is becoming a lost art.
• Builds a Sense of Community and Teamwork – Working together to produce a school newspaper is a bonding experience. As the students work together from planning, researching, writing, layout and design, to publishing, they develop a sense of community and teamwork. They can collectively feel proud of what they’ve accomplished and learn the value of hard work.

Generates School Funding – A school newspaper can be a great fundraiser for your school. It’s also an excellent opportunity to teach the students about best practices in business as they contact local businesses to sell ads for the newspaper. It also teaches the students the value of a strong work ethic. They get to celebrate the results of their hard work when the paper comes out and other students and faculty are excited to read it.

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