How Schools Code Journalism and Recruitment Tips
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Katina Paron
Apr 16, 2026, 3:38:54 PM (12 days ago) Apr 16
to NYCJournalismTeachers
Recently I asked you all how your school codes your journalism course. Thank you all who responded. I promised I'd share what I found out. Here you go:
How Schools Code Journalism
It seems as several of your schools code English as an elective. One potential concern with this I've seen is that the course ends up dominated by seniors, which creates a problem with leadership, retention, knowledge transfer, etc.
One school programs journalism as an intro and advance class to allow for blending of grades across classes.
This might be an issue for CTE Classes. At Curtis HS (a CTE school) the sophomore class is an English elective but photojournalism is an art class.
Bronx River HS has coded journalism as an art credit, which students need for graduation. Also has been an elective and internship credit, depending on student needs. It's code two different ways for one class.
A note on recruitment: Recruitment is an ongoing thing for all journalism classes. It's a combination of approaching students in your other classes, asking other teachers for recommendations, making sure the class looks fun from the outside (trips, special privileges, press passes, etc.) and having your student leadership team recommend students.
Brian Sweeney at Townsend Harris HS gave this tip to Bronx River High: "The staff and I put together a list of potential candidates and students deliver them an invitation to a lunch/meeting. It's in an envelope with their name and really helps with buy in.
"Then during the recruitment lunch, the students present a slide show explaining what we do and the various perks (Trips are a big part of it!) and highlight accomplishments/awards.
"We hand out an application that asks students to review newspaper and say what they might be interested in doing. The staff goes through the applicants and picks our top candidate. They are accepted to the program and I work with our principal to make sure they get programmed for our class. Note: Students who don't make the cut or schedules don't allow it can take part in the newspaper club.
"For current staff, we work to keep our most talented and/or hard-working people. One way is by promoting them to section editors and/or columnists. Looks good on resume. And some stay because they enjoy the work and like being with their friends.
"We generally have to take about 8 to 10 9th graders (10th graders for next school year). We pull from students who don't need extra reading support. We share this pool of students with the debate class.
"And for better or worse, we run the class as a production class where they learn by doing The students and I provide lessons and workshops as needed but it's not a daily or even a weekly thing. Most kids love this but a few would probably feel 'safer' with more traditional assignments."
Debbi at Bronx River HS also shared this: "Here's the application (survey) and the invite. I also included a self-reflection rubric that counts as each student's 'test' grade at the end of each marking period. Reading them helps me see what's going on with the students and also helps them reflect on how they're doing. I find that most students are harder on themselves than I would be. I say this because part of retention, especially for high-achieving students, is knowing you can get a good grade based on growth and a desire to get better. The rubric simplifies grading and forces them to be honest about what they're contributing - or not."
How Schools Code Journalism
It seems as several of your schools code English as an elective. One potential concern with this I've seen is that the course ends up dominated by seniors, which creates a problem with leadership, retention, knowledge transfer, etc.
One school programs journalism as an intro and advance class to allow for blending of grades across classes.
This might be an issue for CTE Classes. At Curtis HS (a CTE school) the sophomore class is an English elective but photojournalism is an art class.
Bronx River HS has coded journalism as an art credit, which students need for graduation. Also has been an elective and internship credit, depending on student needs. It's code two different ways for one class.
A note on recruitment: Recruitment is an ongoing thing for all journalism classes. It's a combination of approaching students in your other classes, asking other teachers for recommendations, making sure the class looks fun from the outside (trips, special privileges, press passes, etc.) and having your student leadership team recommend students.
Brian Sweeney at Townsend Harris HS gave this tip to Bronx River High: "The staff and I put together a list of potential candidates and students deliver them an invitation to a lunch/meeting. It's in an envelope with their name and really helps with buy in.
"Then during the recruitment lunch, the students present a slide show explaining what we do and the various perks (Trips are a big part of it!) and highlight accomplishments/awards.
"We hand out an application that asks students to review newspaper and say what they might be interested in doing. The staff goes through the applicants and picks our top candidate. They are accepted to the program and I work with our principal to make sure they get programmed for our class. Note: Students who don't make the cut or schedules don't allow it can take part in the newspaper club.
"For current staff, we work to keep our most talented and/or hard-working people. One way is by promoting them to section editors and/or columnists. Looks good on resume. And some stay because they enjoy the work and like being with their friends.
"We generally have to take about 8 to 10 9th graders (10th graders for next school year). We pull from students who don't need extra reading support. We share this pool of students with the debate class.
"And for better or worse, we run the class as a production class where they learn by doing The students and I provide lessons and workshops as needed but it's not a daily or even a weekly thing. Most kids love this but a few would probably feel 'safer' with more traditional assignments."
Debbi at Bronx River HS also shared this: "Here's the application (survey) and the invite. I also included a self-reflection rubric that counts as each student's 'test' grade at the end of each marking period. Reading them helps me see what's going on with the students and also helps them reflect on how they're doing. I find that most students are harder on themselves than I would be. I say this because part of retention, especially for high-achieving students, is knowing you can get a good grade based on growth and a desire to get better. The rubric simplifies grading and forces them to be honest about what they're contributing - or not."
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