Fresno Christian High School

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Fresno Christian High School is a division of Fresno Christian Schools, a private, Christian school in Fresno, California. The high school currently consists of 27 staff members and 277 students, located on the Peoples Church campus at 7280 North Cedar Avenue in Fresno, CA. In a typical school year, the student body represents over 100 churches, including The Peoples Church and many others in the Central Valley. Students attend from the greater Fresno area and other communities such as Kerman, Kingsburg, Sanger, Selma and Madera. ^[1] During the 2009 school year, the school will experience a dramatic shift in leadership, after 29-year Principal Gary "Papa" Schultz announced his retirement toward the end of the 2008 school year.^[2]

[edit] Newspaper

Fresno Christian's award-winning newspaper, The Feather, is currently advised by Greg D. Stobbe (11th year). He is also a board member of the Journalism Education Association. The newspaper staff is led by editor-in-chief Mary Kneefel. As of March 2008, The Feather Online staff numbers in excess of 30 members, whose goal is to "reflect, represent, inform, and entertain the student body through the campus news, features, profiles, and sports activities." The online edition has received many awards, including winning the National Press Association's 2006 Online Pacemaker ^[3]. During the fall 2007 semester, Feather staff writers created 250 articles in an effort to become a daily publication of Fresno Christian High School. The Feather Online unveiled a new, updated version in late January 2007 (http://www.thefeather.com).

On April 19, 2008, The Feather Online was recognized as the best online high school newspaper in the United States by the National Scholastic Press Association in Anaheim, CA. This is the second time The Feather Online has won the prestigious Pacemaker award. The first time was in April 2006. The Fresno Bee printed an article, High school newspaper earns shot at award, March 5 outlining The Feather's nomination in a Metro article for a Pacemaker award. The article may be found in the Local & State section of the Bee on page B2.

Feather reporters were also recognized by a national online publication in the 2007 fall semester. The staff had 35 articles selected by the National Edition online newspaper during 14 consecutive weeks of publication. As of mid December, 20 different Feather reporters were honored by this selection. The National Edition is a national high school publication sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. The National Edition began publication in September 2003 and publishes about 30 articles each week, drawing from over 665 high school online publications. In addition to providing daily news, The Feather recently began podcasting in the fall of 2007. Feather podcasts can also be found on iTunes. Much of the Feather staff has also begun blogging. Current Feather blogs include The Arts by Chelsea Joy, Sports by Coleton Hutchins, Muse by Ryan Martens, and Student Life, co-authored by Suzanna Quiring and Austin Ward.

The print edition of The Feather has also received numerous awards, such as First Place by the International Quill & Scroll (2007, 2006, 2003, and 2000) and a Gold medal from Columbia Scholastic Press Association of New York City in 2006 (Silver medals 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, 2000). The Feather print edition also won the coveted San Joaquin Valley Scholastic Press Association's Sweepstakes award on March 1, 2008. This is annually given to the grand champion of the day at California State University, Fresno, in the annual conference and contest. High school newspaper staffs from Lodi, CA, to Bakersfield, CA, regardless of school size, attend the competition.