Trustees Approve College Introduction to Digital Journalism

Huntington School Board members have approved a new one semester, half-credit College Introduction to Digital Journalism course. Trustees took the action during a public meeting this past Monday night in the Jack Abrams School STEM Magnet School auditorium. The class will make its debut next September.

The course will be offered to students in grades 10-12 who have successfully completed English 9. Enrollment is expected to run about 25 students.

“Students will explore the basics of news reporting and writing through in-class exercises, out- of-class reporting assignments and close reading of daily news outlets,” Assistant Superintendent Brenden Cusack told trustees. “Emphasis is placed upon the values, ethics and practices of journalism. Critiques and discussion will reinforce newsroom essentials - objectivity, fairness, balance, accuracy and speed. By semester's end, students will produce basic news stories worthy of publication. Students will write for the school newspaper, The Dispatch.”

The new course was approved in October by the district’s Subject Matter Council and the Educational Development Committee. This college level offering through Stony Brook University’s ACE program will run concurrent to the high school’s existing Journalism course.

“This program is an excellent opportunity for students enrolled in the Huntington High School Journalism course to attain three Stony Brook University credits at a reduced total cost of $300,” states the course rationale. “For students who qualify for free/reduced lunch, the Stony Brook ACE fee will be further reduced to a total of $100 for the three-credit course.”

Trustees voted 7-0 to approve the new course.