American School Board Journal Special Report on Brown v. Board of Education Wins Editorial Awards
Several Articles Also Cited for Excellence
Alexandria, Va. – July 11 – American School Board Journal (ASBJ) has won several editorial awards for a special report on the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling and its coverage of the voucher controversy in Colorado.
Founded in 1891, ASBJ is an editorially independent education magazine published monthly by the National School Boards Association (NSBA). This year, the magazine has won awards in three different categories: education publications, trade association publications and business-to-business publications.
“Brown v. Board of Education: The Ruling That Changed America” received a Gold Award in the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ 27th annual National Editorial Awards. The first place finish came in the special section category for under 80,000 circulation. The report was also a finalist in the One Theme Issue category in the Association of Educational Publishers awards contest.
The coverage of the Brown decision continues the magazine’s longstanding interest in civil rights and education. In a June 1954 editorial, the magazine challenged school board members “to bring to an end for all time the unjust denial of a completely equal opportunity of education for all the children of all the people.”
ASBJ’s 50-page report also won a bronze award in the single-topic issue category from the Society of National Association Publications. It also received an Award of Excellence from the National School Public Relations Association. Just 76 of the 830 entries in the publications portion of the contest received Awards of Excellence.
“For 114 years, American School Board Journal has chronicled change, interpreted issues, and provided practical advice on the broad range of topics that school board members and administrators face daily,” said Marilee Rist, ASBJ’s publisher and NSBA assistant executive director. “With this special edition, our staff provided readers with a comprehensive history and analysis of the issues as well as an opportunity to examine the role that Brown continues to play in public education and public policy.”
“Vouchers, Choice and Controversy,” by Glenn Cook, which appeared in the January 2004 issue of ASBJ, received the 2005 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers. The story, which examined the voucher debate in Colorado, was selected from three finalists in the editorial-news Story (adults) category for magazines.
“Complex issues are presented in a clear way and the article presents each side fairly on a very controversial issue,” the judges wrote.
Another Cook article, “From First to Footnote,” which appeared in the April 2004 issue of ASBJ, received an honorable mention from the National School Public Relations Association in its annual award contest of outstanding education publications. The article examined the impact of desegregation over the past 50 years in Summerton, S.C., home of Briggs v. Elliott, the first of five cases later consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education.
Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association is a not-for profit federation of state associations of school boards representing 95,000 local school board members throughout the United States. Its mission is to foster excellence and equity in public elementary and secondary education through local school board leadership. NSBA represents the school board perspective in working with federal government agencies and national organizations that impact education, and provides vital information and services to state associations of school boards throughout the nation.
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