Awards and Memberships
Columbia Scholatic Press Association (CSPA):
2020-2021 – Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital News Critique Gold Medalist
2019-2020 – Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital News Silver Crown Winner
2018-2019 – Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital News Critique Gold Medalist
2017-2018 – Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital News Critique Gold Medalist
2015-2016 – Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital News Critique Gold Medalist
2014-2015 – Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital News Critique Gold Medalist
2013-2014 – Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital News Critique Gold Medalist
2012-2013 – Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Digital Crown Winner
NSPA: Achona is a member of The National Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit organization at the University of Minnesota, serving student media in secondary schools and journalism education programs in the United States and abroad.
2016-2017 – National Scholastic Press Association Digital Publication Critique First Class Honor Rating
2015-2016 – National Scholastic Press Association Digital Publication Critique Second Class Honor Rating
2014-2015 – National Scholastic Press Association Digital Publication Critique Second Class Honor Rating
Quill and Scroll: Academy publications retain a charter school membership in Quill and Scroll, an International Honorary Society for High School Journalists, sponsored by the University of Iowa. Achona staff members who meet criteria become eligible for nomination by their journalism teacher or publications moderator for membership in Quill and Scroll.
Poynter Institute: Adviser and staff development at the Poynter Institute has been instrumental in future goals and development of Achona. The current adviser and journalism teacher, Ms. Melissa Cox, attended the 2013 College Educator Workshop at the Poynter Institute in June. Former adviser and journalism teacher, Mrs. Edie LeBas, who implemented the move to the online format for Achona in 2010, attended two summer College Educators workshops at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg in 2011 and 2012. These workshops provided the latest trends in curriculum design for the initiation in September 2011 of a Newspaper Journalism course at Academy. Former Co-Editors Tori Litschgi and Li Stalder attended a three-day high school journalism workshop in August 2012 at Poynter, sponsored by Channel 10 News and the Gannett Foundation. Previous Co-Editor Caroline de Quesada and Junior Section Editors Gini Barreda, Sarah Elliott, and Samantha Vargas attended a Poynter evening high school mini-workshop on data visualization on January 16, 2013. Sarah Elliott was accepted to the high school workshop in June, 2013.
