The week of Feb. 19 through the 23rd is this year’s Scholastic Journalism Week. This week is dedicated to celebrating student journalism and highlighting its importance.

The Del Val journalism program has come a long way at Del Val. Back in 2018, “The Delphi” was only releasing one issue a year and interest appeared to be dying out. Luckily, teacher Brian Smith stepped up and took over the program. 

”The last few years before I took over, they were only putting out one PDF issue a year,” said Smith. “I didn’t want to see ‘The Delphi’ die, so when I stepped in, we switched to the online site.”

This switch allowed “The Delphi” to keep going. After switching to a digital publication, the paper was able to grow.

”I know at our school journalism has really grown,” said Editor-in-chief Sara Matthews. “My first year, we had eight people, now we have a full class.”

“The Delphi” appears to have a bright future. It is currently a three-time SNO Distinguished Site and has a growing staff. Editor-in-chief Veronica Hart attributed the paper’s success to both our advisor Brian Smith and the hard working staff. 

”I’m almost jealous that I’m graduating this year because I want to see how much it will continue to grow,” said Hart.

Another aspect of “The Delphi’s” success is the use of modern technology. Over the past few years, the use of social media and podcasts has helped “The Delphi” reach its goals. 

Student journalism has been able to advance both nationally and at Del Val. With journalism growing in popularity, it has also made it more competitive, explained Matthews. She finds the higher level of competition to be a good advancement and hopes it to continue.

Having more freedom has also allowed for student journalism to blossom. 

“When I first started advising, my students were a lot more hesitant about what we can write,” said Smith. “I think through the discussions that we’ve had in class and the program we have built together with my editors and my students, they started being a lot more comfortable talking about things that matter to them in their lives.”

This ability to be more comfortable has helped lead to the overwhelming success and advancements of “The Delphi.” 

The future of student journalism looks promising, and thanks to technology, it is “here to stay.”