| Each week,
4,000 copies are printed of The News-Herald. Of those copies,
537 go to Owen County schools.
They are a part of the Newspaper in Education (NIE) program, which
serves schools across the country. The papers are sponsored by
a different person or company each week.
Mark Cleveland has been a sponsor for three years. He was asked
by former News-Herald editor Patti Clark if he would be interested
in sponsoring a classroom.
He said he believes the program goes hand-in-hand with education.
“You want people to be literate and up-to-date on current
events,” he said. “It’s the perfect fit.”
This week is National NIE Week. Students at each of the schools
in the county use the newspaper every week as a part of their
curriculum. For the younger students, highlighting vocabulary
words is something they look forward to every Friday when papers
are delivered. The high school students say they like to look
at the sports page and court news.
Lee Ann Gamm teaches sophomore English at Owen County High School.
Her students are currently studying persuasive writing. They look
at advertisements and letters to the editor to see the persuasive
techniques used.
“In prior years they’ve had to do a report on an article
they’ve read,” Gamm said.
Reading the newspaper is the “class opener” every
Friday in Gamm’s class and the students read what interests
them most in the paper.
“Every one of them reads it,” Gamm said, “and
I can use it for instructional (time).”
Shelli Hedger’s first-graders use the paper for different
activities. They highlight their spelling, vocabulary and word
wall words each week. Last Friday they were looking for words
with “long I” sounds.
“They look forward to it every week,” Hedger said.
“They remind me (to get the papers).”
First-graders Erica Tanksley and Grace Cull said they like to
read the paper. Cull said she likes reading the words and Tanksley
likes it when she finds her sisters’ names in the pages.
Both girls said they had never been in the paper themselves, unless
they were named Citizen of the Month, and then they “get
their picture taken in the lunchroom.”
Terri Mears’ class wrote a book of thank-you letters to
their sponsor, Citizens Bank. In addition to thanking the bank,
some of the students wrote about what the class does with the
paper and what they like about it.
“We make quilts from pictures,” said the letter from
Taylor Lykins.
“We look for abbreviations (and) we do scavenger hunts,”
said Skye DeCandia’s letter.
High school students also wrote letters about how they use newspapers.
Students in Jeff Sutton’s health and physical education
classes wrote letter thanking their sponsor and relating articles
in the newspaper to things they’ve learned in class.
Chelsea Gibson wrote about the article done on recent drug arrests
in the county, saying it was used with a unit the class did on
drugs and their consequences.
The paper also recognizes a number of high school students in
the sports and education pages. Mary Kennedy, also a student in
Sutton’s class, said the recognition in those pages increases
students’ self-esteem.
“This ‘boost in self-esteem’ contributes to
a social and mental state of well-being,” Kennedy writes.
Owen County Primary School principal Mark DeCandia said the teachers
appreciate being able to use the paper and it gives them additional
local material to focus on.
He said it is important to utilize the newspapers so the students
can understand them more as they get older.
“Exposure is important,” DeCandia said. “Even
at the preschool age.”
Cleveland said he believes the program not only enhances reading
but can do much more, including sparking discussions on current
events and discussing the difference between papers in different
cities and counties.
“How can you not be interested if you are an educator?”
Cleveland said. For more photos see page 12.
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