Publications Booster Club launched for Justice High School

Justice High School parents have started a new booster group to raise the profile of student publications.

The Justice High School Publications Boosters support “the Verdict,” the student-run newspaper; the “Howl” yearbook; and the CREDO literary magazine.

The Publications Boosters hope to raise funds to enable students to produce more printed editions of the Verdict and CREDO, says Victoria Sneed, whose son, Marco Zepien is the Verdict news editor.

She also hopes the boosters can find sponsors and raise $8,000 for broadcasting equipment. English teacher Marc Gaffen is interested in starting a broadcast journalism class and a student-run news show.

“The publications are expanding and are doing really well. There’s a lot of energy there,” Sneed says. “We have amazing teachers that have really stimulated the students.”

“Because Justice is really big and diverse and has a very active student body, the publications are a really important tool to get their voices out there,” she says. Justice is the only Title I school in Fairfax County.

CREDO lets student writers and artists see their work in print, while Howl highlights all the different communities within the school, and the Verdict gives students a chance to report on issues that affect their peers.

The Verdict and Howl earned the highest distinction in the Virginia High School League’s publications competitions last year. Sneed says the boosters will help students accept awards in person, as well as attend journalism workshops.

Last year, a couple of students were accepted to a journalism workshop at Princeton, Sneed notes. There are lots of similar events in D.C. “We want more students to apply and take advantage of those experiences.”

“All it takes is money,” she says. “We want to enable any student interested in something like that to be able to go.”

“Having a boosters organization can help amplify what the students and staff can do,” Sneed says. Anyone who wants to help the Justice publications can submit a donation online.