Aspen High School journalism program to host parking fundraiser
To meet operating costs, they will charge $20 per spot at AHS
The Skier Scribbler/Courtesy Photo
Not every high school has a flourishing journalism program, where students get the opportunity to learn the crafts of print, broadcast, and yearbook. The programs that are in place, however, are costly.
The Aspen High School journalism program relies on fundraising to meet their budget requirements, operating almost entirely outside the budget of the school district. They publish the print student newspaper The Skier Scribbler seven times per year, host broadcast reporting once a week on Skier TV, and release an end-of-term yearbook.
“Now, more than ever, it is critical to help students find and use their voice,” Aspen High School Principal Sarah Strassburger said of the school’s journalism program. “And whether students are reporting or writing opinion pieces, they are learning valuable lessons about integrity, bias, attention to detail, and more.”
To meet the operating costs, student-journalists will host a parking fundraiser Sunday to raise money for the program, charging $20 per slot from 8 a.m. to noon. Highlands Ski Patrol, students, staff, and families who must be on campus won’t be charged, according to a press release.
“I’m hoping that we’ll raise maybe $500,” Print Journalism Teacher Sarah Ward said. “I think it’s great for them to just get out there doing things to raise money for something they really care about.”
They operated last year on a budget of roughly $9,000. Apart from costs of print and broadcast, some of the funds were put toward a student trip to “J Day,” an October journalism conference in Boulder. They hope to use some of Saturday’s funds to finance next year’s trip.
“It’s really incredible because it’s a very real world experience for the kids,” Ward said of J Day.
Run by the Colorado Student Media Association, J Day attendees went to sessions last year about visual storytelling, photography, social media management, documentary, and one called “what I wish I would have known before my journalism career.” Twenty-two Aspen students attended the event.
The other funds are used to print the paper at the Gypsum press and finance the purchase of cameras, padcasters (video production systems), microphones, memory cards, card readers, and more, according to Ward.
“Really, I think the key is it’s about teaching kids all aspects of journalism,” she said. “To run a paper costs money.”
Ward said they also rely on advertisement revenue — like a traditional print paper — to fund the Scribbler, having featured six to seven ads throughout a school year in the past. They also accept donations.
“Beyond that just reading what the kids are writing is an incredible way of supporting us,” she said, adding “Kids have an incredible perspective. Their perspective is so important right now.”
The online version of The Skier Scribbler can be accessed at skierscribbler.com.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
Aspen High School journalism program to host parking fundraiser
Not every high school has a flourishing journalism program, where students get the opportunity to learn the crafts of print, broadcast, and yearbook. The programs that are in place, however, are costly.
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