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KSPA is excited to announce its newest learning opportunity for students, “Statehouse Reporter for a Day,” a combination field trip/reporting contest in which students have the chance to interview state officials and legislators about the issues facing K-12 education in Kansas.

Statehouse Reporter for a Day is set for Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, at the State Capitol in Topeka. The event begins at 8 a.m. with check-in and concludes at 2 p.m. The full agenda and contest requirements are listed below.

For schools that need help financing a trip to Topeka, $500 travel reimbursement stipends will be available for up to seven deserving schools.

Travel funds available

There will be no registration fee for the event, and a generous grant supplied by the Kansas Families for Education Foundation allows for schools who need help traveling to Topeka to apply for a $500 travel stipend reimbursement to help cover expenses.

Space limitations at the Capitol building require that we limit registration to no more than four students (two print and two broadcast) and one adviser per school. Students will be divided into reporting teams, with one team responsible for producing a news story and the other responsible for producing a broadcast news package. (If a school doesn’t have a broadcast team, it can bring only two print students. If it has only a broadcast team, it can bring only those two students.)

The single-page registration form and instructions are on page 4 of the full event document. The early registration deadline (for schools wishing to apply for the travel stipend) is Monday, Dec. 14, 2009. The final registration deadline is Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. However, because registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, there is no guarantee that meeting the registration deadline will reserve your spot in Topeka. Once you apply, we will notify you within 72 hours if your application has been accepted. If you aren’t already a KSPA member, just download the membership form and become one so that your students can participate.

KSPA wants to thank our guests — including Lt. Gov. Troy Findley, Steve Kraske from The Kansas City Star and First Lady Stacy Parkinson — as well as the Kansas Families for Education Foundation for making this opportunity possible.

We hope to see you in Topeka on Jan. 28, 2010.

Contest requirements

Prior to Jan. 28, it will be the students’ responsibility , with the help of their advisers, to keep current on issues facing the legislature in its 2010 session, specifically issues regarding K-12 education. Gov. Mark Parkinson’s Nov. 22 announcement of budget cuts to education is one place to start. Students must bring to the press conference all preparatory material and a list of relevant questions for the press conference.

All written stories must be completed by Monday, Feb. 1, and sent as a PDF document to jeffbrowne@ku.edu. Video crews have until Friday, Feb. 5, to edit and e-mail their compressed video file to the same address, or they can post the file to Vimeo, SchoolTube or YouTube and send the link in an e-mail to jeffbrowne@ku.edu. Entries will be judged by University of Kansas journalism faculty. Winners will be posted online on this site by Feb. 15.

All stories must

• Be focused on a K-12 education issue facing the Kansas legislature in its 2010 session;
• Be written in a balanced, fair news style, complete with an objective tone;
• Contain at least three key sources that reflect a variety of view on the sujbect at hand;
• Be either 600 to 1,200 words in length (print) or no more than three minutes long (Broadcast packages).

Print stories can be turned in with any relevant photos (with cutlines) that will be used when the story is published in the school’s publication(s).

Broadcast stories may be done with or without a stand-up element.

Schedule

• 8 a.m. Students arrive and check in outside Docking Auditorium.
• 8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast; remarks from Associated Press reporter John Hanna; KSPA Executive Director Jeff Browne outlines contest requirements and student expectations.
• 9:30 a.m. Students observe legislature in session.
• 10:30 a.m. Student press conference with elected officials.
• 11:30 a.m. Lunch in Docking Auditorium; speakers include First Lade Stacy Parkinson and Steve Kraske from KCUR and The Kansas City Star.
• 12:30 p.m. Students return to Capitol to interview hometown legislators, observe committee meetings, gather other information and images for stories.
• 2 p.m. Students dismissed to return home.