BCPS release: Three Baltimore County high schools – Franklin, Randallstown, and Towson – received honors in the 2017 Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines, sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Towson High School’s Colophon was one of 26 magazines in the nation to receive the Highest Award. This is the 16th time since 1994 that Towson High’s Colophon has received a Highest Award from NCTE. To receive this award, magazines have to earn 91 – 100 points in first round judging by state and national judges and then be displayed at NCTE’s national convention and judged by the competition’s advisory committee. Colophon’s student editors are Anna Henderson, Morgan Hylton, Hannah Weinstein, and Rosemary Wommell, and its faculty advisors are Noah Belt, Nick Busselman, and Andrew Freeburger.
In the last 20+ years, Colophon has won six Marylander Awards from the Maryland Scholastic Press Association as the best magazine in the state and has won six Silver Crown Awards and two Gold Crown Awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. In addition, the magazine has received seven Pacemaker Awards from the National Scholastic Press Association, which recognizes the magazine as among the best in the country.
“Our student staff and editors have worked hard and what they pull off on a yearly basis is both humbling to be a part of and a testament to the continued creativity and dedication of Towson’s student body,” Busselman said.
Franklin High School’s Junto and Randallstown High School’s Impulse were honored with Excellent Awards (for having scored between 81 – 90 points). At Franklin High, Brian Chambers, Inna Egorysheva, and Morgan Stewart are the student editors of the magazine, and Timothy Showalter is the faculty advisor. Randallstown High’s magazine is led by students Morgan Clark (editor-in-chief) and Afkar Alwakii (layout editor). Their faculty advisor is Susan Ellerbee. Randallstown High also won a NCTE Excellent Award in 2016.
NCTE’s student literary magazine program is open to all secondary and middle schools throughout the United States, Canada, Virgin Islands, and to American schools abroad. This year, 372 magazines were entered into the competition.