2014 was an unusually busy news production year for Cy-Fair ISD, which distributed more than 500 news releases to local media. Through the district’s journalism network, high school students collected a total of 174 bylines that year.

Joel Weckerly, CFISD’s assistant director for communication, launched the High School Journalism Network in 2014. Prior to its launch, the task of producing the growing number of news releases each year fell to him.

“It almost got to be unbearable for one person writing all that,” Weckerly said. “I started brainstorming solutions, and the first conclusion I came to was, ‘Look at how many student journalists we have in the district and all the awards they’re winning.’”

Involving students in news production within the district gives them a unique opportunity to build their portfolios and gain recognition in the local media, Weckerly said. Students from all 10 CFISD high schools had work published in 2015.

With more than 100 students going in to the program’s third year, Weckerly is establishing a more structured protocol and assigning ambassadors at each school to manage students and assignments.

HSJN gives students real-world deadlines, monthly press conferences, experience pitching story ideas, and practice writing and rewriting based on edits.

Damaris De Leon, a senior at Jersey Village High School, has been involved in HSJN since the program began. She has had numerous stories published in the local publications and on CFISD’s website.

“What I most enjoy writing about is individual people and just showcasing their talents and letting people know what they do,” she said.

Yearbook and newspaper classes are highly interactive, emphasizing writing and photography skills, she said.

As co-editor of the school’s yearbook, De Leon said she hopes to double major in journalism and Spanish at Texas State University next year.

“[HSJN] gives students who plan to pursue the field hands-on experience, and I think it prepares them for what it’s actually going to be like,” De Leon said. “Even for students that don’t want to pursue that field, it gives them connections.”