Cloverdale High School Principal Sonny Stoltz recently recognized the eight Citizen One student reporters who have been contributing stories since the beginning of the pilot program. These students were recruited by CHS English teacher Ms. Maria Skiles, who has been instrumental in the Citizen One pilot program from its earliest stages as the Bureau Chief for Bureau One.
Without the contributions of civil servants and student contributors like these, there would be no Citizen One. Their efforts have established processes and approaches that will inform the entire Citizen One network as it grows. Not only have they written some fantastic articles and stories – they have written the blueprint for how Citizen One will work in the future.
Along with the support of Cloverdale Schools administrators – Superintendent Greg Linton and Principal Sonny Stoltz – Ms. Skiles and her team’s work has enabled Citizen One to move from our Pilot Program into the next phase of growth, where we will be recruiting more students to participate, opening up our advertising program for small businesses, and expanding Citizen One into more schools.
To borrow a phrase from Purdue graduate Neil Armstrong – this is one small step for Citizen One, and one giant leap for Citizen Journalism. We are incredibly excited to move to the next phase. As a thank-you for their efforts, each student received a Citizen One golf shirt and backpack, provided by Cloverdale Schools.
Whether you are a student or a citizen – we can always use more stories. There is a lot going on in our small community, and we can only cover so much. If you’re a Cloverdale Citizen who would like to contribute, please do so here.
If you’re a Student at Cloverdale in grades 9-12 – we are actively recruiting more reporters right now.
There will be a kick-off meeting on April 29th to review the program, and we will be giving out brand new Citizen One Mobile Journalism kits to all participants. These include a t shirt, press pass, lanyard, notebook, pen, stickers, magnets, buttons and more.
Participation in Citizen One now also includes class credit!!! Participants can earn a half-credit for service learning participation per semester toward your high school diploma and a full credit for each Summer session. Students are also eligible to compete for a $1,000 scholarship, which is awarded to Seniors who participate in Citizen One and want to continue their education in journalism.
If you see any of these young storytellers out and about in your community – stop them and thank them for their work. Local journalism matters, and this service to the local community would not be possible without their hard work and dedication.