THE AWARD-WINNING student newspaper at Newton's Day Middle School faces disruptive changes. The resulting challenge is universal: how to improve schools and keep programs that inspire students.
At stake is how sixth graders join the newspaper's staff. Now they do it by enrolling in an elective journalism class. But Newton wants to overhaul its four middle schools by implementing a national program called Breaking Ranks in the Middle. The plans include engaging students in interdisciplinary studies of timely issues and ensuring that all the middle schools offer comparable programs.
One poor result is that the sixth grade journalism class would be replaced by a club. School officials say this would increase student participation. For Superintendent Jeffrey Young, it's a matter of maintaining the Daytime's excellence and creating more equitable access.
That's a worthy goal. But schools should recognize when the assets they have work well as is. The sixth grade journalism class is a lively training ground that improves writing. A club is less likely to be as rigorous.
To expand access, new doors should be built for students who want to join the paper in the later grades as staff or as part-timers.
There's also a personnel dispute. Under Robert Provencher, the Daytime's faculty adviser, the newspaper has won eight consecutive Gold Crown awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, part of Columbia University's journalism school. A controversial and beloved figure who has been an educator for 40 years, Provencher has been asked to advise the newspaper and teach English. He says that would mean working two jobs, which he won't do.
Provencher should keep his daytime job. And school officials should groom the next crop of journalism teachers who will pursue access and excellence - so that ultimately, students' voices and passions will prevail.
