2022 KSPA State Celebration:

To the All Stars!

The KSPA State Celebration returns as an in-person event at the University of Kansas on May 7. Our keynote speaker? National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson! His presentation of photographs and personal stories will kick off a day of celebration, recognition and learning at the Kansas Union. We hope you will join us!

What else will happen that day?

Sessions for students and teachers, including your seniors to prepare them for college. Plus, showcases of the winning entries from the State Contest, so your students can learn from the best work of fellow students.

For you as advisers?

We are hosting a luncheon at the Union to honor all of the great work that you have done. Plus, we want you to have time to reconnect with fellow teachers.

No in-person contests

No in-person contests. Because of the online format for Regionals, we were locked into digital submission for State too. The KSPA board will re-evaluate for next year.

Schedule

While we are finalizing the schedule for KSPA State, please use this draft in your planning: 

  • 8:30 Registration opens
  • 9:00 Opening session begins
  • Mid-morning Two break-out sessions
  • Around noon Adviser luncheon and student lunch
  • 1:30 p.m. KSPA State concludes

Jim Richardson

One of the most decorated and celebrated journalists in Kansas history, Jim Richardson brings his decades of expertise to KSPA State as our keynote speaker. Richardson traveled the world for National Geographic photographing many of the issues that define our time, including the changing realities of food. Richardson also brings unique insights into photographing in Kansas high schools: his book “High School USA” documented one school year in a rural Kansas school, creating a photographic yearbook unlike any other. 

Richardson last spoke to KSPA members in 2017 in Topeka. He lives in Lindsborg, Kansas where he and his wife own their Small World Gallery. 

Celebration

During our opening session and advisers lunch, KSPA will celebrate the many award winners from the 2021-2022 school year, including staffs that earned All-Kansas rankings and the schools that earn Sweepstakes or runner-up awards in the State Contest. 

We are also excited to honor our individual award winners, including earning . . . 

  • Student Journalists of the Year
  • Courage in Journalism Award
  • Portfolio of the Year
  • Mary Patrick Aspiring Young Journalist Award

Aside from student awards, KSPA will also celebrate . . . 

  • The Administrator of the Year
  • The Sunflower Award
  • The Jackie Engel Award
  • Retiring teachers from 2022, 2021 and 2020
  • Outgoing KSPA board members

Sessions & Tours

After our opening session, KSPA will provide two 40-minute break-out sessions for students of all interest areas: from photography to writing, from design to video. We will also offer sessions aimed at preparing seniors for college life. 

For students interested in seeing the newly renovated Stauffer-Flint Hall, a tour of the KU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications will be offered. Visit the production spaces that create KU’s student video programs and its student newspaper, The Kansan.

Not registered for the State Contest? 

We still want you and your students included in the Celebration. Please register using this form (COMING SOON), which only includes registration for the Celebration — not the Contest categories. We want every KSPA school involved!

Not a KSPA member? 

We welcome you for free! Come see what KSPA is about: a gathering of the most dedicated teachers in the state, encouraging their journalism students to achieve incredible things. Be our guest for the day, hear an extraordinary keynote speaker, select from our range of break-out sessions and join us for lunch. (Please note that non-members must register and pay if they plan to bring students to the Celebration.) (REGISTRATION FORM COMING SOON)

The Location

The Kansas Union, Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, Kansas at the University of Kansas

To Register

Please fill out one of the forms below. 

  • To register for the State Contest AND KSPA State Celebration, visit this page.
  • To register for the KSPA State Celebration only, visit this page. (COMING SOON)