Shaker Heights High School's Student Newspaper Keeps Community Informed During COVID-19

With devastating layoffs at The Plain Dealer, mistrust in the media and cries of fake news from the nation’s highest office, there are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about journalism. But the student reporters and editors at Shaker Heights High School’s newspaper The Shakerite are a beacon of hope for the Fourth Estate.

When the coronavirus shutdown put the teenagers out of school, the staffers of the newspaper didn’t look at the time off as a vacation but a call to action.

“COVID-19 is affecting everyone all around the world and there's no denying that, but we felt it was really important to write about how it’s affecting and shaping our students and staff and community members and what's going on here,” says Mae Nagusky, editor-in-chief and senior. “I also think part of writing stories is connecting, so we really wanted to help facilitate connection under these circumstances.”

The newspaper, which has an audience of students and community members, has worked to contextualize the crisis for its readers. In addition to sharing fun ways to stay busy during a quarantine and thought-provoking essays questioning some students’ celebration of an extended spring break, it’s reported multiple, vital news stories on how school shutdowns will affect students’ IB diploma program credits, winter and spring athletes and prom.

The students reported and published stories almost every day for the first 15 days of shutdown — all while still getting their homework done.

“As journalists, we tend to kind of look at what's wrong,” says Nagusky, “but it's also important to acknowledge what's right. For example, people are writing chalk messages on the sidewalks, like, ‘You Got This!’ or ‘Stay Healthy’. I don’t know if there’s stuff like that happening everywhere, but it’s great to see so many examples of that in my community.”

One recent story also proved the power of the paper’s pen when it comes to speaking as an opinionated, critical voice of the student body. In 2019, secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly was inducted into the Shaker Heights Alumni Hall of Fame. In April, Modly resigned after letters leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle proving Modly had made disparaging remarks about Captain Brett Crozier, who spoke out about not getting the help he needed to combat the 230 cases of COVID-19 on his ship the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. Modly, an alumnus of Shaker Heights High School, even fired Crozier from his position.

The Shakerite editorial board responded by writing a scathing piece calling for Modly to be removed from the Hall of Fame.

“Shaker has always been an accepting and friendly community and school district,” the newspaper wrote. “So why are we honoring a man whose first instinct is to disrespect others who are trying to save lives, especially during this pandemic?”

The post sparked conversation throughout the community, including from some who disagreed with the paper’s opinion and many more who agreed. The article even caught the attention of Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery, another notable alumnus and member of the Hall of Fame. His sharing of the post reminded Nagusky that even local community reporting can garner national attention.

“There were a lot of people defending and agreeing with us and a few people respectfully disagreeing with well-written comments, which I think is great,” she says. “Writing the piece is important, but I think the conversations the piece invokes is even more important.”

This month, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association awarded The Shakerite its sixth Gold Crown Award in seven years. The award for exceptional student reporting is given to 25 student publications out of more than 1,000 applications.

Students at Shaker Heights can take journalism as an elective. Once they pass Journalism 1 and 2, they can then become members of the student paper. Led by adviser Natalie Sekicky, who Nagusky says is “what sets us apart from any other news organization,” the staff of 38 students include managing editors, section editors, beat reporters, web managers, photographers, podcasters and more.

“I know my ideas and stories have worth because of Natalie Sekicky,” says Nagusky.

Nagusky is planning to major in journalism when she gets to college later this year. Sure, she says, she’s heard all the horror stories and the warnings about the future of journalism. But she’s not letting it dissuade her from following her passion for reporting and storytelling.

“It’s devastating to see what’s going on with The Plain Dealer and news organizations all over the country because I know those reporters are so dedicated to what they do, but I do think that journalism has been redefined with technology,” she says. “I know I might have to expect turmoil or pain if I want that to be my career field, but I’m not willing to quit.”