Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
ECB Publishing, Inc. has become a community partner with ALL of our local schools to support teachers and students across the curriculum. This literacy partnership with schools is part of a larger, statewide program of Florida Press Association Educational Services, called Newspaper in Education (NIE).
Although our local program is new this year, we are already delivering more than 220 free copies of each issue of the Monticello News and Jefferson County Journal to educators who have asked to use them with their students. Because the newspapers are shared in some cases by various classes throughout the day and week, newspapers regularly reach approximately 300 students through their social studies instructors, literacy coaches, elementary teachers, elective courses and adult education classes. Each delivery is accompanied by activity ideas tailored for specific items in each issue.
We have partnered with teachers at Jefferson County K-12, Aucilla Christian Academy, Franklin Academy and the Jefferson Correctional Institution Education Program as well as parents who are homeschooling their children. This is ECB Publishing's way of supporting teachers' goals for literacy, civic education, basic and advanced writing, real-world math skills and more. Newspapers are a proven resource for boosting student achievement across the curriculum, and now that our local program is established, we invite you to join us in this effort.
Research shows that students using the newspaper as an educational resource develop the habit of lifelong reading, are more likely to become engaged citizens and regular voters, and score more highly on standardized tests. Using the newspaper as an educational resource helps students to
• Develop a better understanding of their community, state, nation and world
• Cultivate critical thinking, reading and writing skills
• Clarify and develop decision-making skills
• Improve math and problem-solving skills
In addition to newspapers, ECB Publishing's NIE program provides unique educational activities for selected articles in each issue of our local newspapers. This supports teachers by giving them ready-to-use discussion guides and activity prompts that require little to no further preparation time on their part.
Perhaps our NIE teachers say it best...
The local newspaper “is a great way to keep students up to date with current events and help them develop reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.” – Zackery Peterson, Aucilla Christian Academy Middle School Social Studies and Science Teacher
“I love the activities you developed for the newspaper. Thank you so much for taking the time to create these lessons and to deliver the newspapers to school. We really appreciate what you’re doing for our school.” – JCS Literacy Coach Kathy Corder
ECB Publishing would like to invite groups and individuals in our community to join us as Newspaper in Education partners for the remainder of this 2022-23 school year. With additional support, the NIE program can continue to expand to reach more students and provide educators with additional materials for teaching with the newspaper. Beginning in January, NIE sponsors will receive monthly recognition in the newspaper and in the twice-weekly emails sent to NIE teachers.
Sponsorship levels for the remaining five months of the 2022-23 school year are as follows:
$100 – sponsor's name listed with the monthly NIE activity page in the newspaper and in the twice-weekly email of activity ideas sent to NIE teachers
$200 – display ad for the sponsor on the monthly NIE activity page in the newspaper and in the twice-weekly email of activity ideas sent to NIE teachers
$300 – larger display for the sponsor on the monthly NIE activity page in the newspaper and in the twice-weekly email of activity ideas sent to NIE teachers
NIE sponsors support critical skill development, civic engagement, community awareness – and the joy of reading! Contributions from schools, businesses, civic groups, government agencies and individuals to sponsor classroom subscriptions go directly to ECB Publishing's NIE program and are used only to subsidize local classroom subscriptions and NIE curriculum services. To join this effort, contact Laura Young at (850) 997-3568 or reporter1@ecbpublishing.com.