2024 in Review

Outreach with Octavia E. Butler Magnet School/PUSD

One of FYJI's first partnerships was with the Octavia E. Butler Middle School in Pasadena, CA. OEB Middle School provided an outlet for FYJI's outreach and advertisement within the local community and was key to its growth.

FYJI 2024 Summer Program with Alma Fuerte Public Charter School

FYJI hosted a journalism summer program at the Alma Fuerte Public Charter School in Pasadena, CA. Teaching a class of 15 young journalists, FYJI guided students through a comprehensive journalism curriculum. Students successfully launched the Alma Fuerte Post after writing original articles based on their own interviews and showcasing their drawn art in the paper.The materials used for the program and Issue I of the Alma Fuerte Post are included below.

In the News

FYJI's success at Alma Fuerte over the summer caught the attention of local news outlet Pasadena Weekly. It was published in physical print as the double spread in the paper's third issue in July.

View the article.

Octavia E. Butler

FYJI formalized an after-school journalism program partnership with the LEARNs initiative in Octavia E. Butler Magnet School. OEB is FYJI's longest partner school, and we are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to enrichment at OEB.

CalMatters

Michael Lozano leads CalMatters' Youth Journalism Initiative. FYJI officially partnered with CalMatters – a 501(c)(3) organization established throughout California – to provide media literacy and journalism education for students across the nation. By targeting asynchronous learning, FYJI provides a classroom space for influential journalists and media influencers to present. Recordings are subsequently posted on the CalMatters website for public viewing.

FYJI 2024 Summer Sample Journalism Program

FYJI is proud to announce a free, two-week journalism summer program over Zoom! FYJI's Journalism Summer Program will take a deep-dive into the complex world of journalism and will help middle school students aspiring to pursue journalism in high school with the skills needed to navigate the field. Below is the planned session framework, and sign up below!

Week 1-

Monday-Wednesday: Journalism leaders present FYJI-made slideshows to students over Zoom and will carefully craft lesson plans around student interests and needs. The basics of article writing involve both student creativity and the use of a diverse vocabulary, practicing both the students' ability to form complex and informative bodies of text. Topics will include introductions to Associated Press (AP) Style, news writing, article structure, feature writing, sports writing and the editing process. These slideshows are created by FYJI leaders with multiple years of high school journalism and editing experience to aid students in understanding key aspects of journalism.

Thursday: Interviewing and question-making lesson. An important aspect of journalism – particularly, feature writing – is the pre-reporting press. This includes gathering information about key figures to interview and preparing questions that are specific and direct to the person. Not only are the quotes a journalist receives from an interview one of the most important parts of an article, but interviewing itself greatly fills students with confidence and interpersonal skills. FYJI leaders will spend a day using slideshows and breakout room activities on Zoom to aid aspiring journalists in learning the necessary components of interviewing and pre-reporting.

Friday: FYJI leaders are in close contact with notable figures in the writing and artistic fields and will provide student participants an opportunity to put their learned skills to the test. Students will be able to ask questions to such respected figures and write informative articles using the information collected from interviews. FYJI leaders will post all articles to families at the end of the two-week program following a round of edits.

Week 2-

Monday-Thursday: Students will make a cumulative, mock newspaper using all skills in the preceding week with the help of FYJI leaders. Students will write about news, features and sports articles within their close communities, allowing students to practice the process of interviewing and reaching out to interviewees in a timely manner. FYJI leaders will edit and provide tailored feedback to students and compile all articles into a printable or digital newspaper. One of the most rewarding aspects of journalism is being able to see your artistic product being published, and that is the goal of FYJI's Summer Program – to offer students the ability to learn beyond generic subjects like writing and explore fields that can compel them to take greater interest in the world around them.

Friday: Showcase day!! Parents and families of students will be able to view the product of students' work over the past two weeks.