Principal Gregory Fucheck accepted the Administrator of the Year award at the Journalism Education Association’s national award ceremony during its fall convention in Nashville in November. The award goes to a  school administrator who supports scholastic journalism and a free press.

More than 5,300 students, advisors and exhibitors from 46 states and eight countries attended the convention. Three BRHS students, Md Ferdous, Zoe Reyes and Jomayra Amparo, also attended the convention with their advisor, Deborah Porterfield. With support from Press Pass NYC, a non-profit that supports scholastic journalism in New York City, students and advisors from two other NYC newspapers also attended the event.

Mr. Fucheck’s speech featured a video clip of Bronx River News staff members talking about what the newspaper means to them and the community. After returning from Nashville, he shared his views on the award and scholastic journalism:

Q: What does winning top administration of the year in journalism mean to you? 

A: It means a lot to me because it was nice to know that students actually wrote the recommendations for me.

Q: What were some of the biggest challenges along the way?

A: Making the commitment of full transparency for the school newspaper, you know, giving students information so they can report it.

Q: How do you manage to balance the administrative side with maintaining journalistic integrity and quality?

A: Well, I believe in free press and the First Amendment. I think people should feel free to write about all topics that are important to us.

Q:What changes or initiatives have been introduced that had the most impact?

A: Reading interventions in both ninth and tenth grade.

Q: What goals do you have for the future of both the school system and journalism in your country?

A: To have a president that (supports) a free press and the First Amendment. Hopefully we’ll have that one day.

Q: What do you think is the most important skill students need to succeed today?

A: To be able to read, write and speak well and to successfully get your point across.