photo by Lizbeth Perez
CAPTION: This year’s Gavel Executive Editor, Alondra Martinez, holds up the Crown Award-winning issues of the print edition of the hybrid Gavel publications.
For the second year in a row, the Holmes High School news staff will be honored with a Crown Award by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) for their print and digital hybrid editions of The Gavel.
The prestigious Crown Award rates The Gavel as among the top student news publications in the nation, with only 44 print and digital hybrid news staffs receiving the honor nation-wide, and only four in the state of Texas.
According to the CSPA, “Crowns are selected for overall excellence in a head-to-head comparison. During Crown consideration, publications are judged on their excellence as shown by their design, photography, concept, coverage and writing.”
The Gavel staff will be awarded either a silver or gold crown this March in New York, NY when the final results are announced, and individual awards for student work have yet to be announced.
Current Gavel Executive Editor Alondra Martinez, who served as Copy Editor on last year’s publications, believes the award was earned through hard work.
“We weren’t lazy with our work, and we took the time to make sure our stories were truthful and well-written, and we progressed a lot design-wise, using a more modern style,” Martinez said.
Current Gavel print co-editor Keren Cumpian, who was a staff writer on last year’s publications as well, points to the potential impact of their work on the student body as one of the reasons for the honor.
“We tried different things, engaged with the students, and the stories were more hard-hitting or had information that would impact students soon and in the future,” Cumpian said.
Particularly of note, out of the four Texas high schools awarded the honor for hybrid publications, Holmes is the only Title I campus, or campus where the majority of students qualify for free lunch due to economic strain.
“Many of the schools that win this award have the advantage of student staff members whose parents can afford to buy them equipment and personal cameras, and are publications that benefit from higher advertising revenues because of more affluent businesses and community resources. I’m particularly proud of how our staff rises above these significant challenges in order to be the best-of-the-best,” publications adviser Matthew Singleton said.
Copies of The Gavel print edition are available four times a school year in A102d, and regular posts can be found at the Gavel Online by visiting studentnews.nisd.net/holmes.