Adviser Update Adviser Update Spring 2017 | Page 3

3 L E T TER FROM EDITOR By Adrienne L. Forgette, MJE W hen Emily Smith’s email hit the JEA Listserv the morning of March 13 asking for advice “near and far regarding a sensitive topic,” we did what we always do. Journalism adviser legends like Mary Stapp, Paul Niwa, Ellen Austin, Mary Kaye Downes and Steve O’Donoghue gave her concrete suggestions on how to tackle the story her students were writing. By the end of the month, when our colleague’s story went viral and her staff was on every national media outlet, I’m sure we all felt like we had an insider’s seat. It was great seeing one of our own being nationally praised for her staff’s diligence in reporting the truth. Our cover story, “Climbing a Mountain” starts on page 26 and features the process she and her staff walked through in telling the story of an unqualified principal. If your school is like mine, we have been delving into design thinking and have been charged with creating innovative lessons using design thinking principles. After hearing Beatrice Motamedi speak at CSPA, I thought we could all benefit from hearing how she helps build empathy in her young journalists by utilizing the design thinking process. Check out her story on page 6. Finally, I’d like to thank the Dow Jones News Fund for giving me the chance to oversee Adviser Update’s transition into the digital world. I’ve accepted a principal position at Nardin Academy in my hometown of Buffalo, New York, and this will be my last issue. I look forward to being a champion for scholastic journalism from the administrative end and supporting press rights in other avenues. Thank you Ethan Pender and Yinuo Chen for copy editing and designing each issue. For the next issue, the DJNF Teacher of the Year, Lori Keekley, will be serving as guest editor. Please send any submission ideas to Heather Taylor at heather.taylor@ dowjones.com. ~ Adrienne Forgette Editor-in-Chief Adrienne Forgette is the Media Arts Director at the Darlington School in Rome, Georgia, where she advises the Jabberwokk yearbook, Darlingtonian online newspaper and Inkslinger literary magazine. She holds a B.A. from Colgate University and an M.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park. Email: [email protected]