Introduction to Institute Participants

Greetings to everyone! I am Clarence D. Hooker from central Mississippi. I teach at a rural high school in Utica. My newspaper student staff finished the school year in a thrilling fashion by completing a tri-profile story as their final exam. When I told them the final exam would be a week long event they panicked until they found out the details. I gave them a modified version of a lesson plan suggested through the ASNE website. The stories compared and contrasted three different people at the school (faculty, graduating senior, and underclassman) to connect them. It was very successful. You may check out these stories and more, if you wish, at www.my.hsj.org/ms/utica/ahs. I am very excited about being part of the institute. Even though I have been an advisor for several years in middle/high schools, this is only my second year at my present school. Thanks to ASNE, we were able to start an online version of our printed newsletter, which was in danger of being discontinued. Now, there is renewed interest for next school year. I hope to gain from the institute more knowledge of newspaper setup (print and online), journalistic skills to pass along to my students, better techniques to get the word out about our newspaper, social networking, and utilization of technology.