Hoffman Estates girl part of Scholastic News Kids Press Corps

As early as preschool, Ysabelle Buenavista wrote down her thoughts and ideas wherever she could.

“She would write stuff on the wall,” her dad, Raymond, a business analyst, said. “We would always scrub it off and she would write more stuff on the wall. We got her a notebook.”

A sixth-grader at Frank C. Whiteley Elementary School in Hoffman Estates, the 11-year-old already is an experienced journalist.

In October, Ysabelle, who lives with her parents in Hoffman Estates, was one of 32 children chosen from around the world by Scholastic News to become a member of the Kids Press Corps. Ysabelle applied for the role at the prompting of her teacher, Kathleen Cochran.

To qualify, Ysabelle had to submit a sample article about someone making a difference in her community along with two story ideas and a brief essay about why she would make a good reporter. She chose to write an article about the Midwest Conservatory of Music in Hoffman Estates, where she studies piano and clarinet.

“I was really nervous,” Ysabelle said of doing her first interview. “I was scared I was going to mess up and jumble up the words.”

Soon Ysabelle had her first official byline on the Scholastic website, covering a drive in Palatine to collect bikes and donations for Working Bikes, a nonprofit organization in Chicago that fixes landfill-bound bikes and finds new homes for them locally and abroad.

“I was looking for an article topic and went to the Palatine (village) website and saw something about Tristan Osterhues holding this bicycle donation event,” Ysabelle said. “I wrote about how Working Bikes was helping others in need.”

The concept of kid reporters for Scholastic emerged during the 2000 presidential campaign, said Suzanne McCabe, editor for Scholastic News Kids Press Corps.

“We thought that having kids cover events on the campaign trail would bring the process to life for readers of Scholastic's classroom magazines,” said McCabe, who's based in New York City. “Learning about the democratic process and the role of a citizen in a democracy are cornerstones of social studies classrooms.”

Scholastic kid reporters, who are between 10 and 14 years old, have the opportunity to interview politicians, celebrities, athletes, community leaders and other public figures.

So far this year, kid reporters have interviewed civil rights icon Ruby Bridges, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and President Barack Obama, McCabe said.

Each reporter receives a portfolio of his or her published work upon completing the program and Scholastic frequently provides letters of recommendation for former kid reporters, she said. Several kid reporters have gone on to become working journalists, some for major news outlets, McCabe said.

Ysabelle's interest in science and belief that children should get involved in their communities made her stand out, McCabe said.

“She's done great work so far, not just with her story ideas but also with her thoroughness,” McCabe said. “Her willingness to fact-check and get the details right says a lot about her. She seems to have the right stuff for whatever career she'd like to pursue.”

In addition to music and writing, Ysabelle enjoys karate and regularly competes in the sport.

Although she says in her bio on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website she wants to become a pediatrician, she plans to always continue writing in some form.

“I've loved writing since I can remember,” Ysabelle said. “I have a bunch of notebooks that I write random stuff in.”

Her mother, Sheila, a computer programmer, couldn't be prouder of her daughter's accomplishments at such a young age.

Ysabelle was in third grade when she won a playwriting contest with a play she wrote about a lost dog. In second grade, she was asked by the Palatine Public Library to read a haiku she'd written.

“She couldn't even reach the podium,” her mom said. “They had to give her a stool.”