Florida Senate - 2026                            (NP)    SR 1808
       
       
        
       By Senator Rouson
       
       
       
       
       
       16-02192B-26                                          20261808__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing and commending Pinellas
    3         County Schools’ Journeys in Journalism program on the
    4         occasion of its 25th anniversary.
    5  
    6         WHEREAS, since 2001, Pinellas County Schools’ Journeys in
    7  Journalism program has provided students with innovative, hands
    8  on journalism education through classroom instruction and real
    9  world reporting experiences, inspiring young reporters,
   10  photographers, editors, and page designers and winning numerous
   11  national awards at the elementary, middle, and high school
   12  levels, and
   13         WHEREAS, the Journeys in Journalism program was founded by
   14  parent and journalist Gelareh Asayesh Brown at Melrose
   15  Elementary School in partnership with the Tampa Bay Times under
   16  the leadership of teacher and founding coordinator Cynda Mort
   17  and was later expanded to John Hopkins Middle School and
   18  Lakewood High School, where it operates as a district magnet
   19  program, and
   20         WHEREAS, the program currently serves approximately 800
   21  students across Melrose Elementary School, John Hopkins Middle
   22  School, and Lakewood High School, providing a continuous pathway
   23  for journalism education from elementary through high school,
   24  and
   25         WHEREAS, as part of its curriculum, students in the
   26  Journeys in Journalism program cover the news of their
   27  respective schools and participate in reporting projects that
   28  take them into the field, where they conduct interviews, gather
   29  information, and report on stories through multiple formats,
   30  including audio, photography, print, and video, and
   31         WHEREAS, students in the program have completed a wide
   32  range of reporting projects, including a documentary examining
   33  the proposed redevelopment of St. Petersburg’s historic Gas
   34  Plant neighborhood, interviews with prominent officials and
   35  celebrities, documenting changes in downtown St. Petersburg,
   36  photographing race car drivers, conducting man-on-the-street
   37  interviews at local festivals, and producing podcasts and video
   38  projects featuring local residents and businesses, and
   39         WHEREAS, the Journeys in Journalism program has produced
   40  alumni who have gone on to pursue careers in a wide range of
   41  fields, including journalism and multimedia, media literacy,
   42  marketing, business, law, hospitality, grades K-12 and higher
   43  education, and nonprofit operations, and a number of these
   44  students are recipients of scholarships established in honor of
   45  program contributors, including the Cynda Mort Scholarship for
   46  Outstanding Journalist and the Peggy Peterman Book Scholarship,
   47  and
   48         WHEREAS, for 25 years, the Journeys in Journalism program
   49  has enriched the lives of students in the Pinellas County school
   50  system by strengthening their communication skills, enhancing
   51  their critical thinking and media literacy, encouraging their
   52  civic engagement, and preparing them for future educational and
   53  professional opportunities, NOW, THEREFORE,
   54  
   55  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   56  
   57         That the Florida Senate hereby recognizes and commends
   58  Pinellas County Schools’ Journeys in Journalism program on the
   59  occasion of its 25th anniversary.