Madison James, student journalist, urges journalism in Portrait implementation
Madison James, a junior at Edward R. Murrow High School, describes her journalism experience reporting on class size and curriculum. She asks DOE to make journalism education accessible to every NYC public high school student through the Portrait implementation plan.
State your name for the record.
My name is Madison James.
Great.
And then you may begin your testimony.
Okay.
Good afternoon.
Again, my name is Madison James, and I'm a junior at Editor Murrow High School in Brooklyn, represented by Councilmember Farrah Lewis.
Thank you for hearing our stories today.
As a student journalist for five years and now editor in training at the Murrow Network, I've used journalism to understand my community,
ask questions that matter, and give people a platform to be heard.
Our journalism program has existed since 1974, and I inherited decades of students and teachers who built a culture where student voices matter.
Last year, I was able to report on how statewide policies are affecting my school, including the class size mandate and new curriculum.
I spoke with
teachers and students living with those decisions, researching complicated information, listening to different perspectives, communicating accurately.
Investigating those policies also introduced me to an interest in pursuing public policy that I might never have discovered otherwise.
That is critical thinking.
That is effective communication.
That is civic engagement.
And journalism makes students practice those skills for a real purpose, not just for another grade on a transcript.
Journalism also gives students space to critically examine the media they consume, recognize bias, and understand how information shapes public life.
That is why journalism fits so naturally into Port of a Graduate.
The POG calls for students to become critical thinkers, effective communicators, innovators, global citizens, and future-focused learners.
Journalists question information and evaluate evidence.
We interview people whose experiences differ from our own.
We find creative ways to tell stories, to obtain new information, and communicate them clearly.
We think about how our reporting affects the communities we cover and what we will do better next time.
Yet only a quarter of New York City public high schools can provide students with that critical experience, limiting whose voices get the opportunity to be heard.
If a Port of a Graduate is preparing students to learn, grow, work, and contribute, journalism gives the place to practice all four.
I'm asking the DOE to make journalism education accessible for every New York City public high school student through the Port of a Graduate implementation plan.
I've had a microphone since sixth grade.
Every student deserves the chance to find their voice and know that someone