Mr. Dogwood wins another major award

KPA chapter series receives second in NAA Foundation NIE competition

The Newspaper Association of America Foundation has recognized outstanding Newspaper in Education and youth content programs, as well as state press associations for their efforts to encourage the use of the newspapers in the classroom. The awards were presented as part of the Foundation’s Young Reader Seminar taking place May 15-18 at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix.

The Kentucky Press Association received a second place for Literacy in the NIE Content competition for its “Mr. Dogwood Goes to Washington” chapter series. The 10-part series, featuring Woody and Chloe, Kentucky’s most famous dachshunds, was published in the fall, 2007, by 85 Kentucky newspapers.

KPA finished second to the Los Angeles Times and the Bay Area News Group, who tied for first place honors.

“Newspaper in Education programs, coupled with newspaper content aimed at young people, do more than provide teachers with a valuable teaching tool – this early exposure is often the spark that motivates students to read newspapers throughout their life,” explained Margaret Vassilikos, senior vice president and treasurer of the NAA Foundation. “This relationship has benefits beyond readership – recent Foundation research indicates that people who use newspapers in the classroom and read newspaper teen content are more likely to become civically engaged adults.”

Findings from the study, entitled “Lifelong Readers: Driving Civic Engagement,” indicate that young people who use newspapers in school and read newspaper teen content are significantly more likely to volunteer, vote and engage in civic expression as adults than those without early newspaper experience.

Kriss Johnson, educational outreach manager for the Lexington Herald-Leader, received a third place award in the Original Curriculum category for NIE Content. That award was for newspapers between 60,001 and 149,999 circulation.