Conestoga Journalists Among Best in USA

Conestoga High School's Student Newspaper is being honored as one of the best school papers in the nation.

The T/E School District Board of Directors honored The Spoke's editors during this week's school board meeting.

Several members of the student newspaper's editorial and writing staff accepted the award in person in mid-Novemer at the National School Press Association convention in San Antonio.

The T/E School District provided more information on the award in this announcement sent to Patch:

The National School Press Association named The Spoke winner of a Pacemaker, the highest honor awarded to high school newspapers.  The announcement was made at the national convention held November 14-17 in San Antonio, Texas.

The Newspaper Pacemaker contest has awarded general excellence in student newspapers for 85 years. This year’s contest was possible because of a generous donation of time and expertise by the staff of The Sacramento Bee, who judged this year’s entries. The contest yielded a total of 322 entries, fifty five finalists and twenty-two winners. 

The Spoke also was recognized for two of its stories. Written by K.C.McConnell (class of 2012) and current senior Kelly Benning, “Revealing a Religion” won third place in the National Diversity Story of the Year and the staff’s “Occupy Philly” story won third place in the National Multimedia Story of the Year category.