Retired journalists sought for after-school pilot program
The News Literacy Project is seeking retired journalists to work with New York middle school students from East Harlem and Brooklyn in early 2009.
The project is partnering with Citizen Schools, a national model that improves student achievement through after-school programs that blend real-world learning and rigorous academics. The project’s journalists will receive training from Citizen Schools and become “Citizen Teachers.” Teams of two or more journalists will work with a dozen students or so for 90 minutes in the late afternoon once a week for 10 weeks, starting in early February. The journalists will be able to choose among four schools in East Harlem and Brooklyn.
The interests and skills of the journalists themselves will help determine the nature of the students’ apprenticeships. The focus will be on experiential learning, culminating with the presentation of a project, known as a “Wow!”
The journalists will work with the News Literacy Project and Citizen Schools staff to develop curriculum that will include visits to newsrooms and broadcast networks around the city and production of a print or web reporting project, a video or creation of a newspaper. Participants will be asked to provide feedback and assist in planning future activities for the project. To inquire about the program or to apply, send a cover note and resume to: info@thenewsliteracyproject.org.