George Washington High School's newspaper, The Surveyor, recently received the prestigious Pacemaker Award from the National Scholastic Press Association. This national award was established in 1971 to recognize the best high school newspapers across the country. Papers are judged based on the following criteria: "coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership on the opinion page, evidence of in-depth reporting, design, photography, art and graphics."

This year, 384 newspapers were critiqued by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Only 29 newspapers were announced as Pacemaker Finalists. From those select 29 only 14 received the Pacemaker Award at this year's Journalism Education Association/ National Scholastic Press Association Journalism Convention in Philadelphia. While the staff was unable to attend the convention to receive the award in person, an award-winning plaque will be sent to the staff to honor their hard work and dedication.

Of those named, The Surveyor, advised by Amanda Schmidt, was the only high school newspaper in Colorado to receive this honor. Last year's staff worked in a partnership with The Rocky Mountain News and the University of Colorado's School of Journalism. The team received a $3500 grant from the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Rachel Ibarra, a freshman at Bowdoin College, and Anna Michaels, also a freshman at Lewis and Clark College, were the Editors in Chief of the paper. Gabe Stein, a freshman at Boston University, was the Managing Editor. The Editorial Staff included Aala Abdelgadir, Anthony Camera, Eugene Doherty, Meghan Kleinsteiber, Tally Latcham, Connor Phillips, Brian Sulley, Katie Whitnah, Kameisha Wiley, Connor Williams, Joe Wood, and Sarah Zapiler.

This year the Surveyor staff is led by Editors in Chief Connor Phillips and Sarah Zapiler along with Managing Editors Aala Abdelgadir and Meghan Kleinsteiber. Aaron Betcher is the adviser.

George Washington High School is a comprehensive public school in the Denver Public School district. This is the first Pacemaker Award that the paper has received in its 48 year history. To see a complete list of winners, visit www.studentpress.org.

Article by Aala Abdelgadir and Meghan Kleinsteiber