Parker Journalists Win McCormick Foundation High School Media Awards

On Friday, March 14, the Scholastic Press Association of Chicago recognized Upper School student journalists with McCormick Foundation High School Media Awards at the annual conference on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. The McCormick Foundation High School Media Awards, a program of SPAC, “recognizes and celebrates the best work from Chicago public and private high school journalism programs.” 

To be eligible, work had to be publicly published between February 17, 2024 and January 27, 2025.

Four articles were awarded Superior Achievement. 

News:  Democracy in Action by junior Alexandra Schneider, a piece about election judging that was previously acknowledged as a Best of SNO, the news platform that hosts The Weekly.

General Feature: Gibson’s First Ted Talk by junior Chloe Deutsch, who took a close look at English teacher Stacey Gibson’s TedEd talk about the need to rehumanize the field of education.

Staff Editorial: Youth is for the Young by the Editorial Board of The Weekly, which urged the school to lighten the college pressure on 9th graders.

Opinion: It’s an Addiction by senior Annabel McIntosh, who advocated for boundary-setting with social media. 

Four other contributors were awarded Excellent Achievement for their writing and photography. 

Community Story: Spanish Sojourn by junior Lula Notz, about the current cultural exchange with students from Seville.

Sports News: Our Street by junior Graysen Pendry recapped the December Clark Street Classic basketball matchup when the Colonels were victorious over Latin.

Sports Feature: Ava Lin: Squash Superstar by Helen Aklilu, which highlighted Lin’s drive and commitment to squash at Parker.

Sports Photography: photos accompanying Freshman Throws No-Hitter by sophomore Cameron Routenberg, which tell the story of “when pitcher meets batter” and the team can’t look away.

Advisors were allowed to submit only one entry in each category, and we had a difficult time choosing which articles to be considered. We are so proud of The Weekly staff and their commitment to journalism. We appreciate the school’s continuing support of scholastic journalism.

Click here to see the awards!