Huntley High news magazine earns recognition

Huntley High School's news magazine, The Voice, and its website, huntleyvoice.com, recently were named Crown Award Finalists in the high school hybrid category by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

The CSPA Crown Award honors the best of the best student publications nationwide from middle school up to the collegiate level. Publications are judged on excellence shown through design, photography, concept, coverage and writing. A total of 1,100 publications were eligible for judging; only 15 in the country were named finalists in this category.

"I was so excited when I found out about this," said Courtney Thomas, print editor during the 2015-16 school year. "It was validation that our work was as good as we thought it was."

Last school year's editor-in-chief Adam Reckamp said the newspaper changed considerably since his first year on staff.

"Our publication does a great job, and it's a huge honor to be up for this award," he said.

Crown finalists win either a gold or silver crown. Final results will be announced and presented at the CSPA ceremonies in March 2017. Huntley High journalism adviser Dennis Brown and members of the newspaper staff plan to make the trip to Columbia University in New York to see which award they will bring home.

"This is one of the most prestigious awards our staff has won in my 20 years at Huntley," Brown said. "I couldn't be prouder of what these students have accomplished."

Language masters:

Several Huntley High School students from the Class of 2016 are the school's first recipients of the state's Seal of Biliteracy.

The Illinois State Board of Education awards the Seal of Biliteracy to students who have demonstrated mastery in one or more languages in addition to English. Illinois is among 23 states that awards the Seal of Biliteracy.

To qualify, students must demonstrate mastery of English and another language.

At Huntley High, students who are English language learners and students who are native English speakers earned the recognition.

ELL students must achieve a composite score of 5.0 and a 4.2 in reading and writing on the ACCESS exam. They must meet or exceed state standards on the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers), and ACT or SAT college entrance exams. Native English speakers must achieve a score of 4 or 5 on an Advanced Placement exam in a foreign language - Huntley High offers Spanish, Chinese, and French.

Officials also are investigating offering other options to demonstrate mastery accepted by the state, including portfolio reviews and alternate tests.

Students who earn the Seal receive a gold seal on their diplomas and acknowledgment on school transcripts.

For 2016, 26 Huntley High students received the Seal, and 23 students received the related Commendation of Biliteracy.

"We want as many students as possible to become biliterate," said Michelle George, director of curriculum.