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Garfield Middle students launch 'Ranger Reporters' school newspaper
Summary
Garfield Middle School principal April Patton introduced the new after‑school club and student newspaper, Ranger Reporters. Students described how the club supports empathy, growth mindset, communication, critical thinking, global awareness and collaboration.
April Patton, principal of Garfield Middle School, introduced the school's new club and student newspaper, Ranger Reporters, at the Feb. 3 Lakewood Board of Education meeting and acknowledged staff who helped the project launch.
Patton said the paper began after a sixth grader, Emily, emailed the principal in late September asking to start a school newspaper. Patton described a quick teacher response and the first edition of Ranger Reporters published Dec. 6; a second edition came out the prior Friday. "Within 2 days, I had 4 staff members ... reach out and say, we will take on this project," Patton said.
Emily, identified by Patton as the student founder, told the board she began a small newspaper called the Sparkle Times in 2023 and wanted to continue the work at Garfield. "Once I got to middle school, I wanted to continue the Sparkle Times at Garfield. So I emailed our principal ... Soon after, the Ranger Reporters was created," Emily told the board.
Several students described how the newspaper advances the district's five competencies for the Lakewood Ranger vision: empathy (learning about other cultures), growth mindset (practicing new skills and handling challenges), communication (active listening, collaboration and revision), critical and creative thinking (researching and fact checking), global awareness and citizenship (interviewing staff and researching holidays), and collaboration (co‑authored pieces and comics).
Staff adviser Miss Bacher and other teachers discussed plans to expand the paper with school‑wide polls, competitions, tighter publishing schedules and, eventually, student leadership of editing and publishing. Teachers said they plan to pursue grants to fund materials beyond classroom supplies.
Board members and administrators praised the students’ work and the emphasis on fact checking. President Katzenberger and other board members congratulated the students and teachers for creating an early, hands‑on journalism experience.
