Circulation: NIE Programs Tied to the Community

Sometimes considered a circulation booster, and sometimes considered a delivery nuisance, a solid Newspaper in Education program can build a bridge from the newspaper to the community, enhance educational programs, and improve media literacy.

While there are bigger NIE programs in the country, The Washington Times program is unique in several different ways. Probably most significant is the collaboration between our NIE program and the 16 school systems with which we work in two states and the District of Columbia.

Beyond delivering papers and providing character education and curriculum materials, we are actively involved with our school systems. Certainly it doesn’t hurt that generous reader support and some corporate funding allows us to sponsor all of our materials and services, but school won’t take papers they can’t use. The services that make our program popular include:

• Sponsoring formal character education training for school systems and working with the schools and the community to develop and maintain character education programs.

• Providing more than a dozen themed character education tabloids throughout the school year.

• Hosting a monthly consortium of character educators from the region.

• Working with local businesses, educators, Chambers of Commerce, and local governments to develop and maintain partnerships, including tutors and mentors.

• Developing curriculum to meet the needs of individual school systems.

• Publishing three NIE half-pages a week, mostly original content about, for and sometimes by area students and faculty.

• Partnering with local attractions to produce such features as "Portraits of Character" by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, "National treasures" by the curator of the National Sports Gallery, and "Washington’s Washington" features from Mount Vernon Estate.

• Participating in the day-to-day business of local schools by serving on committees and boards in several communities.

We are fortunate to have the complete support and cooperation of our editorial staff who provide the editorial space for our NIE features, design the NIE pages, and provide news and material for inclusion in our pages.

The definition of NIE at The Washington Times is much more comprehensive than providing newspapers for the classroom. It includes being a citizen, modeling cooperation and partnership among agencies and individuals. It includes making the newspaper an active partner and integral part of the community by being good neighbors.

Newspapers of all sizes can conduct NIE programs that benefit themselves and their communities. The services may vary depending upon staffing and financial considerations, but the important thing is to make your newspaper a part of the educational process.

Lancto is the Newspaper in Education coordinator for The Washington Times.