NLP’s News Literacy District Fellowship program expands across U.S.

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The News Literacy Project has selected nine school districts to join its growing News Literacy District Fellowship program — a nationwide initiative that supports education leaders to design and implement district-wide plans for news and media literacy education.

The program will potentially impact more than 1 million students across 13 states. The latest fellows are the third cohort in as many years represent districts of all sizes in urban, suburban and rural communities.

“Teaching news and media literacy to our students is no longer a supplemental skill, but a necessary one,” said Karin Ledford, librarian, Elk Grove Unified School District, California, a fellowship program participant. “Our teachers are eager to dive deep into media literacy skills, too, and are looking forward to us leading the way.”

Five California districts include Los Angeles

This 2024-25 cohort includes the Los Angeles Unified School District, the country’s second-largest, which will join four other California districts to create a blueprint for teaching all students news literacy skills before graduation that can be replicated across the state.

“Students are at a significant civic disadvantage if they are not taught how to navigate our current information landscape. Together with these districts, the News Literacy Project is leading a movement to ensure that young people learn to identify credible information and recognize falsehoods, so they graduate with the knowledge and ability to participate in civic society as well-informed, critical thinkers,” said Charles Salter, President and CEO of NLP.

The fellowship is a two-year program. Each district receives $20,000 and support from NLP through professional learning, curriculum guidance and a network of like-minded peers. Upon completion, fellows can apply to join an alumni network, demonstrating continued commitment to widespread adoption of news literacy education by mentoring and inspiring other school systems. This year’s cohort brings the total number of fellowships to 17.

“Through our fellowship and alumni programs, the News Literacy Project is sparking systemic change to public education at a national scale. Together we are paving the way for all students to graduate with news literacy skills, empowering students to think critically about information and preparing them to be active participants in our democracy,” said Shaelynn Farnsworth, director of the fellowship program.

The 2024-25 News Literacy District Fellowship cohort includes:

California

• Beverly Hills Unified School District
• Central Unified School District Fresno
• Elk Grove Unified School District
• Fremont Union High School District
• Los Angeles Unified School District

Florida

• Broward County Public Schools

Nebraska

• Kearney Public Schools, Nebraska

North Carolina

• Johnston County Public Schools

Oklahoma

• Norman Public Schools