English teacher and journalism advisor Ellen Austin, second from the right, poses with Tracy Anne Sena, far left, Paul Kandell, second from the left, and Esther Wojcicki, far right. Austin was announced as Journalism Educator of the Year by the California Journalism Education Coalition on Thursday, April 21.
– Samara Trilling
Palo Alto High School English teacher and journalism adviser Ellen Austin received the California Journalism Education Coalition’s Journalism Educator of the Year award on Thursday, April 21, for her work with Paly’s journalism department.
Austin has advised the school’s sports journalism magazine, The Viking, since its inception in 2007, and this year took on the additional role of joint adviser for Paly’s broadcast journalism program, INfocus.
Tracy Anne Sena, current president of the Journalism Education Association Northern California and Austin’s colleague, presented the award as a surprise at Thursday’s faculty meeting, which INfocus recorded and presented in its April 22 episode. Sena is also on the board of directors of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
“It’s a once in a career award. It was totally unexpected,“ Austin said.
The award was “certainly well-deserved,” Sena wrote in an email.
“The Viking has broken new ground as the nation’s first high school all-sports magazine and now as a website,” Sena wrote. “Coupled with her staffs’ long-form journalism, photography and video, Ellen’s students really are “doing it all” — and at a very high level. Yes, students can hold momentum on their own for a while, [but] the trajectory that the Viking is on is evidence of a very strong adviser — certainly an educator of the year.”
This award comes two weeks after Paly received the First Amendment Press Freedom award. The distinction is given to a school that “actively supports and honors the First Amendment through its student media,” according to the Journalism Education Association, and was only bestowed upon three high schools in the nation. The other two schools were Kirkwood High School and Frances Howell North High School of Missouri.
As a JEANC board member, Austin is active in journalism education both regionally and nationally. In addition to her responsibilities as an Advanced Placement English Literature teacher, a Beginning Journalism instructor and an adviser for the two aforementioned publications, Austin also devotes her time to helping journalism programs at various high schools across the country.
Austin credits those experiences with helping her become a better teacher and mentor for Paly’s student journalists.
“Seeing the environments that other schools are in informs my perspective sitting here on Paly’s campus,” Austin said. “We have an extensive amount of freedom to report and write what we believe needs to be covered. That freedom is not the norm for far too many of your colleagues nationally. It [the award] helps me remember what is important to teach and what’s important to talk about.”
Two other Paly journalism advisors and English teachers, Paul Kandell and Esther Wojcicki, have also previously received awards from Cal-JEA with Kandell receiving the same award, Educator of the Year, in 2009.
The following is a transcript of Sena’s presentation of Austin’s award, addressed to Paly faculty:
“I’m Tracy Anne Sena, president of the Journalism Education Association of Northern California, but I’m here today as a representative of the California Journalism Education Coalition, an alliance of the state’s high school and college journalism organizations, to present an award to Ellen Austin.
“Palo Alto High School is well known as a leader in scholastic journalism, and the emergence almost four years ago of The Viking under Ellen’s leadership has continued this tradition. The nation’s first high school all-sports magazine has garnered local, state and national awards not for “sports” stories, but stories crafted through the lens of sports. Long-form journalism pieces have focused the stigma attached to carriers of the HIV virus, hazing, the murder of a Paly alumnus by a member of one of America’s most prominent families and discrimination based on gender. Additionally, The Viking‘s photographers have won some of the nation’s most prestigious photojournalism awards.
“But that’s not why I’m here today. The Viking came onto Cal-JEC’s radar this year with its expanded use of social media and 21st-century reporting. The staff gives the final scores of all of the school’s teams — men’s and women’s, from basketball to badminton — within 10 minutes of the final whistle via Twitter and Facebookand often leads readers to the Web for a recap or commentary just hours later. With the tremendous success of the Paly’s football and volleyball teams this year, The Viking expanded its coverage to include live-blogging, as well as video and live streaming in conjunction with INfocus, a program Ellen co-advises.
“I think it’s appropriate to add at this point, Cal-JEC voted on this award in February, but since this time, The Viking has also launched VikingSportsMag.com, the nation’s first high school “All-sports, all-the-time” website. This fledgling website — just 6-weeks-old last weekend — beat out well-established, national award-winning programs by taking second place in Best of Show for Large-School Websites at the JEA/NSPA National High School journalism Convention in Anaheim.
“Ellen Austin, given the tremendous successes your students have had this year, and because your Paly students have once again raised the bar in scholastic journalism, I am delighted to present you with this plaque, commemorating Cal-JEC naming you Journalism Educator of the Year. Congratulations.”
Editor’s Note: The authors of this article are enrolled in Austin’s senior AP English Literature class.