Press Pass NYC

In 2021, I founded Press Pass NYC knowing, as a teacher, the power of student press and the difference it could make in the lives of both students and teachers. I also knew from my teaching background at a Title-1 school of the profound inequities in scholastic journalism opportunities; New York City’s most selective and affluent schools have student newspapers, while our most underprivileged and low-income schools don’t. By donating to Press Pass NYC you will be empowering aspiring journalists like those below: —Students like 2022-23 Student Journalism Leaders Fellow, Denisse Merino, whose first article in her school’s brand-new student news site, The Lead News, about the disappearance of senior trips post-COVID resulted in immediate action by the administration. —Students like 2024-25 Student Fellow , Jayleen Torres , a senior at The College Academy who joined her school’s brand-new newspaper club as a sophomore and helped inspire her teacher to create a full-credit class to support their news site, TCA Heights , the next year. Count me in! I want to empower more student journalists, start and sustain more student news publications, and support more publication advisers with a gift today! You'll also be supporting the teachers who inspire them: — Teachers like 2023-24 Adviser Fellow Shakana Jayson, who jumped at the chance to start a student newspaper at the Academy for Young Writers in East New York where she teaches science–and starting this year, a JOURNALISM class, too–because of how much she valued the award-winning student newspaper at her high school alma mater, Townsend Harris High School* .* — Teachers like special education teacher and internship director Debbi Porterfield, a 2024 JEA Rising Star Award winner and now a Certified Journalism Educato r, who thanks to support from Press Pass NYC was able to take her  Bronx River High School students to national student journalism conferences in St. Louis, Boston, and this year (with her own school’s support) Philadelphia. You can read her students’ own articles about that experience here and here . I'd love to tell you the stories of the 34 other middle and high school teachers we continue to train and support and our 40 amazing current and past student fellows, and about the impact working with Press Pass NYC to launch a student news publication has had on them and their schools. But for space, let me tell you in numbers what we've accomplished in three years: —22 Student news publications started. —300 Student journalists running them. —1000 Student stories published. —8 Journalism awards won. —8000 Students NYC public school students served. Of course, we couldn’t do this work without generous supporters who understand how investing in scholastic journalism is investing not only in educational equity but in graduating the kinds of informed, empowered citizens a strong Democracy needs. In three short years, Press Pass NYC has laid the groundwork for a true renaissance in scholastic journalism in New York City, but there are still hundreds of schools to work with! We hope you will consider supporting this urgent work with a year-end gift as we work to build a thriving network of local student newspapers and informed and engaged young New Yorkers. With gratitude, Lara & the Press Pass Community