Students of Glen Rock and Ridgewood high schools have been presented with an exciting new opportunity to reach a larger audience.

The Ridgewood-Glen Rock Patch has teamed up with these high schools in order to allow students to have their articles published in the Patch. Starting this year, when students at Glen Rock High School or Ridgewood High School write an article for their school papers, they will also have the ability to get that article published on the Patch. This innovative new idea will allow for a student perspective to be heard by the readers of the Patch.

There were a number of factors that brought about this change. “It came about shortly after I took over the site, and as far as I’m aware I’m the first editor to try it out,” said Devin McGinley, the editor of the Ridgewood-Glen Rock Patch.

He also added, “Patch is intended to be a platform for people to write about their towns and to cover local news that, while important to people in the community, might not get attention from other media sources. And I think that student reporters help with both those goals. They cover things going on that even people who live in Ridgewood and Glen Rock may not be aware of, with unique perspectives and insights.”

All students at Glen Rock High School and Ridgewood High School who write for their school newspapers will have a chance to get published. The Patch is mainly looking for articles that are important to the communities of Ridgewood and Glen Rock on a larger scale.

The first student-written story published on the Patch was written by The Glen Echo‘s News Editor, Lilia Wood, about Mr. Karcher’s departure from teaching at Glen Rock High School to become a part of the Ridgewood Police Department. Lilia received an email home a few weeks ago explaining that her article was chosen to go on the Patch.

“I was really excited when I heard, because I was really proud of that article, and I was glad more people would notice my article other than just the high school student body,” said Lilia. This is a perfect example of when an article can provide a perspective that could not be written by anyone except a student.

Lilia is very proud of her accomplishment, saying, “I think being published is a great thing to have on my high school resume.” She also added, “It was a huge milestone in my journalism career.”

The Patch will be working with the schools’ faculty advisers and trying to publish a couple of student-written articles each month from both Glen Rock High School and Ridgewood High School. This will give students a real chance to explore their writing skills and expand their love for writing.

McGinley has experienced first-hand how this kind of an opportunity can inspire a career in journalism, and he helps writers gain important experience in the field.  “When I was in school in Ridgewood, the local paper had a section devoted to student writings, and that’s where I got my first byline.”

McGinley added, “I think that high school papers are great places for journalists to develop, but I also think that it’s important for writers to have an opportunity to present their work to different audiences and find broader exposure when they can.”

So keep your eyes peeled, the next student-written article could be published at any moment.