30 NYC Schools Will Get Help Starting Student Publications Through Journalism for All

Two of the public schools receiving support for journalism programs, The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology and The Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx, are Student Leadership Network partner schools.

By Michael Elsen-Rooney
Originally published by Chalkbeat New York on December 20, 2024

A first-of-its kind initiative to expand access to student journalism in New York City public schools announced its inaugural class of 30 high schools.

The high schools, which span all five boroughs, will receive professional development and a new curriculum to start journalism courses starting next year through Journalism for All. They will also get seed funding and ongoing support to launch school publications, and paid media internship opportunities for students in future years.

Journalism for All launched earlier this year to address long-standing gaps in access to journalism in city schools, after years of work from youth advocates and nonprofits.

Only a quarter of the more than 400 high schools across the city had an active student publication as of 2022, the survey from Geanne Belton, a journalism professor at CUNY’s Baruch College found. Schools with higher concentrations of Black, Latino and low-income students, and those located in Brooklyn and the Bronx were less likely than other schools to have publications.