"Tomorrow's Leaders Read the Paper Today"

Newspapers in Education
“Tomorrow’s Leaders Read the Paper Today”

What is Newspapers in Education?

Imagine a classroom where the textbooks are brand-new daily, and contain the latest information about people and events – the ones on the other side of the world, as well as those just down the street.

That’s what Newspapers in Education offers to K-12 students in the Kearney Hub distribution area.

The varied content in newspapers makes them useful – and stimulating – as a teaching aid in almost any curriculum or grade level. NIE educators have used newspapers to teach:

NIE teaching guides help teachers apply newspaper content to their lessons, and support achievement of state and national academic standards. Teachers may opt to receive papers daily, or only on specified days of the week.

Why Use Newspapers in the Classroom?

• Regular newspaper reading prepares students to be informed, involved citizens.

• The “always-fresh” nature of newspapers captures students’ interest and imagination.

• Students who are eager to read the paper are developing lifelong reading habits.

• Familiarity with the newspaper – from meeting announcements and movie guides to opinion columns and classified ads -- enhances life skills and builds a bridge from the classroom to the world beyond.

• Because students are encouraged to take their papers home, NIE promotes family literacy.

• Newspapers provide real-life lessons on our First Amendment freedoms, and our responsibility to defend them. In the words of Jim Abbot, Vice President of the NAA Foundation: “We need to let the next generation know that the true values of the country cannot be compromised. Not by the right or the left. Freedom is always one generation from extinction.”

NIE at the Kearney Hub

The Kearney Hub’s NIE program is one of more than 900 such programs nationwide and internationally. In addition to newspapers, NIE programs provide educational supplements, curriculum guides and other instructional aids to help educators derive maximum benefit from their newspapers.

The Hub provides more than 2600 newspapers per week to dozens of local classrooms. The generous support of corporate and individual sponsors means that we can offer papers at no cost to teachers or schools.

Youth-oriented content provides a “point of entry” for young newspaper readers. With this in mind, the Hub publishes a full page of educational fun called “Kid Scoop” in the paper every Tuesday. And on Monday, we publish an educational supplement for the primary grades: “Kid Scoop Nebraska” contains colorful, engaging lessons specific to Nebraska’s politics, history, and culture, and supports Nebraska Academic Standards. We also sponsor NIE-related literacy activities throughout the year, including the Summer Reading Series and the Holiday Reading Series, both of which are designed to keep kids reading, even when school’s out.

What Does NIE Cost?

The Kearney Hub absorbs the administrative and delivery cost of NIE, and furnishes newspapers at a special educational rate of 13¢ per copy (the lowest rate we can charge under Audit Bureau of Circulations rules). Unfortunately, because of tightening budgets, even that’s too much for many schools and teachers.

The good news is that many businesses, organizations and individuals in our area recognize the value of Newspapers in Education and provide generous financial support, allowing us to meet teachers’ requests for newspapers at no cost to the teachers or schools.

Get Involved!

Teachers: If you would like to request a newspaper subscription for your classroom, or discuss NIE, please contact us.

Parents and Grandparents: You can support the use of newspapers at your child’s school. $16.25 pays the cost of one-week’s newspapers for a class of 25. Contributions may be made directly to the NIE program or, if you’re a subscriber, ask us about vacation donations. At 13¢ a copy, every dollar makes a meaningful difference.

Sponsors and Contributors: You can show your company’s or organization’s commitment to your community – and to the leaders and employees of the future – by supporting local education. NIE provides a tangible and visible vehicle to show your support.

Located outside Kearney? Not a problem. At your request, we can tailor your sponsorship to benefit your local community.

If you wish to be an NIE sponsor, or discuss opportunities to support the program, we’d love to hear from you.

Contact:
Linda Holloway, NIE Coordinator
Kearney Hub
P.O. Box 1988
Kearney, NE 68848
Tel. 308-233-9792
e-mail: linda.holloway@kearneyhub.com

Thank you to major sponsors of the Kearney Hub NIE program: