Achievement Award Winners celebrated

The 2021 Achievement Award winners were announced during the GSPA virtual awards on April 21.

Administrator of the Year:

Administrator of the Year recognizes an administrator who has demonstrated strong support for a scholastic journalism program. This year’s recipient is Dr. Grant Rivera, Superintendent of Marietta City Schools. 

According to Pitchfork newspaper adviser Andrea Lyons, “Dr. Rivera, the Central Office staff and the Board of Education always take time to give our staff special recognition upon receiving awards from other outlets. They create recognition time for our students, their families and the community to take part in celebrating our success.” Lyons further commended Rivera’s transparency for being open about his decision making with the press. 

Community Service: Pitchfork Staff, Marietta High School

The Community Service award recognizes a staff that, through its forum, has initiated significant change within the community.

Marietta High School’s Pitchfork newspaper staff members set a goal to improve their involvement in the community. Dedicated space in each issue highlighted the staff’s, students', and community’s service and civic engagement efforts. Coverage included pandemic-related fundraisers, Black Lives Matter and other support of BIPOC students and community members, as well as voting rights and registration efforts.  

At Christmastime, through social media and in-person safe and distanced school engagement, staff led an effort for students to write over 100 cards of encouragement to the homeless. They also collected blanket donations for the non-profit, Atlanta Mission.  

In another issue, Pitchfork staff encouraged students on and off campus to take pictures with ‘thank you’ signs that they used to create a special video for teachers.

According to adviser Andrea Lyons, Pitchfork staff hope to continue to spread kindness, promote community service and civic engagement, and demonstrate by example what it means to follow their school motto to “Be Somebody.” 

Freedom of the Press: Carmel Yonas, South Forsyth High School

The Freedom of the Press award recognizes a producer of work that demonstrated solid reporting and insight, but was censored from student publication.  

For her piece, “The Reality of Racial Inequality Towards the Black Community,” the winner of the 2021 Freedom of the Press Award is Carmel Yonas of The Bird Feed at South Forsyth High School.  

For months, Yonas says she faced push back from administrators for an opinion piece she wrote that discussed consequences that the Black population suffers from because of disparity. Her piece reflects on George Floyd’s death, Black Lives Matter and protests, among other topics. 

Adviser Clori Rose-Geiger noted in her nomination letter that “(Yonas’) grace in the face of a very frustrating situation has been remarkable to see, and I’ve enjoyed working so closely with her on this piece.” Geiger added: “I think the biggest reason (Yonas) deserves this award is because her ideas have never been intentionally inflammatory—she’s simply tried to tell her truth, as a Black student in the midst of great social change.” 

Yonas says she hopes that her article "accomplishes echoing the Black community's voice as they stand up for justice and equality.”