Journalism plays a major part of the culture at DeKalb School of the Arts. For myself and many others, the beloved journalism class serves as a way to explore the world around us, learn about it, and interact with news that affects us in real time. Through journalism this year, we've accomplished extraordinary advocacy work, enabled students to engage more with the world around them, and make news digestible and accessible—all while remaining unbiased and relevant.

In recent weeks, however, we have received very unfortunate news about our journalism class. Despite being #1 in DeKalb county, our school is severely under appreciated, underfunded, and understaffed. Our school's only creative writing teacher and head of the journalism department, Dr. Hunt, is being forced to teach 9th grade ELA classes. Because she can't be two places at once, she consequently has to drop her only offered journalism class to teach the incoming freshmen. Not only does this strip opportunities from eager future journalists that were excited about the class, but it also serves as another example of how under appreciated Arts schools are limited. This is detrimental to our creative scholars and journalism enthusiasts. So many of us want to pursue journalism in the future and having a strong foundational class means the world.

DeKalb School of the Arts has a long and extensive history of fighting to be treated with the same respect and importance as competing public schools in the county. By signing this petition, you would be supporting this generation's young artists, scholars, and creatives. Journalism matters to us, and it should matter to you too. Help us prove to DeKalb county that our journalism is meaningful and that its’ importance goes beyond the boundaries of our school.

Please help us save our journalism department!