Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Wausau West High School Entry Title: Bad Reception Entry Credit: Davin Yakey Judge Comment: The survey is a great addition to this story! The combination of national research on trends, the survey, and interviews draws on many ways of exploring this issue. I appreciate the range of viewpoints and number of students interviewed. Comparing research on how phones affect students to students' perspectives on that question would have been interesting, as well.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Purple Sage Entry Title: Substitute teacher shortage hits WHS Entry Credit: Dominick Praksti Judge Comment: Fascinating issue. Dominick Praksti got a good, behind-the-scenes look at how this works, what schools do to cover and adapt, as well as ideas for broader solutions. It made me curious what other schools across the country are doing, and if any had ideas that could work in Waunakee.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Wausau West High School Entry Title: Giving Strength to Their Stories Entry Credit: Tommy Thao Judge Comment: Great choice of subject and reporting opportunity in that visit to the capitol! Tommy Thao gives both a very high-level look at the history and the issue but also gets into individuals' personal experiences in detail, which is a very powerful combination and a holistic approach. Great photos! Some lines were a bit editorial.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: The Tosa Compass Entry Title: Filipino American author Randy Ribay visits Wauwatosa Entry Credit: Charles Andrew Cruz Judge Comment: Great article! Well organized — Charles Andrew Cruz didn't just repeat what the interviewee said but synthesized it, pulled out salient points, and put it together in a logical format with a good mix of paraphrase and his own voice as well as quotes. Wonderful takeaways from the interview, and it's great having these different photos to help tell the story.
