Chantilly High's Bretton Zinger Wins CSPA Award

Bretton Zinger, the adviser for the student newspaper, The Purple Tide, and the student literary magazine, Andromeda, received a 2011 Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Gold Key award. 

According to the announcement, "The award recognizes advisers who provide service above and beyond the call of duty, leadership in education, and support and encouragement to student journalists."

In his letter to the CSPA, Zinger wrote, "I still enjoy coming to work every day.  I even look forward to the start of each school year."

"I get to see every day that the gloom-and-doom stories of American public education aren’t entirely accurate," added Zinger. "We’ve got some wonderful young minds."

"Mr. Zinger means a lot to us because he is a great adviser and we are all very grateful to have him! He's very helpful, but at the same time he lets us make our own decisions," said Ruta Trivedi, news editor at The Purple Tide. "I think he definitely deserves this award, and I'm sure everyone else on staff agrees."

Mary Kay Downes, the adviser for Chantilly's yearbook, Odyssey, and Anthony Whitten, adviser for Westfield's yearbook, The Guardian, both won Silver Crown Awards, as well.