ASPA Honors Detroit Country Day Student Newspaper, Literary Magazine with National Awards

Young writers at Detroit Country Day School (DCDS) have drawn accolades from the American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA). Both the student newspaper, The Day Times, and the school’s annual literary magazine, Spectrum, received first place awards in the Top-Scoring Newspapers and Top-Scoring Magazine categories. The Day Times also received the Most Outstanding High School Newspaper for the 500-1,000-student newspaper division.

“Our students bring an enormous skill to their work on these publications, not only to writing and design, but in making editorial decisions about what topics and stories to cover,” said The Day Times faculty advisor Jessica Salamin. “They are dedicated to putting together a first-rate publication that is engaging and informative, while adhering to rigorous journalistic standards. We do not currently offer a newspaper class, so our students do all of the work on this publication after school during club time.”

Each year, the national ASPA Awards recognize high school student publications such as yearbooks, magazines, and newspapers for special and outstanding design, writing or content. DCDS’s weekly newspaper The Day Times earned the highest possible rank – First Place with Special Merit. The Day Times staff is comprised of more than a dozen students, including co-editors-in-chief Diana Lu ‘15 and Maddie Novice ‘15 and managing editor Juhi Katta ‘15. The paper’s faculty advisers are Salamin and Matt Sadler.

Spectrum earned a Superior ranking by the National Council of Teachers of English in their Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines (PRESLM). Students Lydia Wang ’15 and Rachel Clephane ’15 served as co-editors-in-chief.

“Participating in Spectrum has been a great way for students to channel ideas into different methods of expression, helping both them and their readers to mature by giving insight about life,” said Spectrum faculty adviser Beverly Hannett-Price. “One can say that Spectrum is a quilt of squares sewn together, each square representing the ideas and philosophies of each individual in the club and in the school. As our editor Lydia Wang explains, ‘Together we knit together a bigger story – a distinctive eye opener to the soul and the world in which it resides.’”

Detroit Country Day School offers students from preschool through high school an exemplary education rooted in academic rigor and a commitment to the full development of each student’s potential. The school is an independent, coeducational, non-denominational, college preparatory school nationally recognized for excellence in academics, athletics and the fine and performing arts. Founded in 1914 by F. Alden Shaw, Detroit Country Day School today enrolls more than 1,500 students on four campuses located in Beverly Hills and Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. For additional information, please visit www.dcds.edu.