Forum schools
Clayton High School
Clayton, MO

• Public school
• The Globe, newspaper
• Adviser: Nancy Freeman
• Contact info: 314-854-6668 nancy_freeman@clayton.k12.mo.us
• Willing to talk with others about forum status
• The Globe,newspaper, is a forum by both policy and practice.
• The Clamo, yearbook
• Adviser Christine (Roney) Strahan
• Adviser contact info (phone and e-mail): Work: 314-854-6670 christine_strahan@clayton.k12.mo.us
• Greyhound News Network
• Adviser Christine (Roney) Strahan
• Adviser contact info (phone and e-mail): Work: 314-854-6670 christine_strahan@clayton.k12.mo.us
• Broadcasts are streamed online

• Length of time as a forum: By practice, the newspaper has a long tradition (at least 20 - 25 years of students making content decisions) By policy, we passed a school board policy in 2002. Yearbook and broadcast are forums by policy and practice in 2002.

• Other points of significance:
We had a strong tradition of being a forum, but we did not have a school board policy that protected that status. in 2000 we got a new principal who began trying to censor both the newspaper and the yearbook. Our superintendent interceded and that principal did not come back after winter break. Our superintendent thought it was time to codify the position we had always taken for granted to give us more protection against any future administrators who thought they could control the student media. Over the next 18 months the advisers and editors of the student publications worked with administrators to hammer out a policy. Our superintendent was amazing. He told district and state school board lawyers that he did not care if they thought he was crazy, he wanted a policy that clearly took us out from under the Hazelwood jurisdiction. We had to testify several times before the school board, but we ended up with a great policy. The adviser played a role in developing the policy.

 

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