This year we asked Bloom Planning, an educational consulting firm in Philadelphia, to conduct in-depth interviews with school leaders and participating classroom teachers. We learned a lot that will help us continue to develop and expand Healthy NewsWorks.
The big take-away is that our principals and teachers appreciate what Healthy NewsWorks brings to their schools.
School leaders voiced “overwhelming enthusiasm for the program and the value it brings to students and a school community,” the consultant wrote, summarizing conversations with seven school leaders.
Following conversations with eight participating classroom teachers, the consultant wrote: “Teachers felt the program works well and is well-designed. This speaks volumes because teachers, in general, are used to using a variety of curricular materials and can often be very critical of materials based on personal preferences or teaching styles. Their positive feedback highlights the strong quality of the program.”
These interviews are part of Healthy NewsWorks’ evaluation program, which began in 2007. Headed on a volunteer basis by Moriah Hall, MPH, a Healthy NewsWorks board member, the evaluations inform us about what our reporters are learning, how to best support our classroom teachers, and what we are doing well and what we can do better. During the past school year, Moriah mentored two MPH candidates who used HNW as a focal point for their separate capstone projects on health literacy and parent engagement in the newspaper program. We also surveyed teachers for their opinions on our new magazine, By Kids, For Kids. The upshot: They liked it and encouraged us to print two issues a year. Our plan is to have two issues in 2024.
We will have more results as Moriah and her MPH students review surveys and reflections from our teachers and students. We will share them on our website and e-newsletter.
Photo: Healthy NewsWorks student journalists show off their work at our 2023 Spring Celebration.
