Some Virginia High School Students Learning First Amendment Firsthand

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Editors of the school newspaper Purple Tide at Chantilly High School in Fairfax, VA decided to highlight free speech on the cover. The staff of the student television show did a three minute piece about Ferguson, Missouri concerning tensions between citizens and the police. The yearbook is completely a student project - all examples of editorial independence.

The students are thoughtful and careful. Last year a faculty member said he was misquoted in an interview with a reporter. Erin Fowler, 18, co-editor of the paper produced a tape of the conversation, asserting it as their First Amendment rights.

What makes for this freedom?

Principal Teresa Johnson, who was honored recently for supporting an independent student press, believes in ensuring that faculty advisers teach students how to be responsible reporters.

This kind of authority that permits the students to publish whatever they want presents a good model for leadership.

Read more in The Washington Post.