The deadline for the Philadelphia First-time Convention Grant application is Aug. 23, 2024.

Grant recipients will be notified by mid-September in order to register and meet all scheduling deadlines for convention activities.

What is the grant?

JEA and NSPA partner to bring advisers and two of their students to the convention hotel, covering four hotel nights, registration fees and convention activities like contests and critiques. Up to four schools will be selected, and the advisers and students will have opportunities to meet each other and fully immerse themselves in the NHSJC experience.

The program launched in 2018 with the first round of grant recipients attending the fall convention in Chicago.

Who is eligible?

Any journalism teacher-adviser who has not attended NHSJC previously is eligible to attend. Applications will be evaluated based on responses to a few simple questions. The grant is designed to support diverse, underserved populations and those in geographic areas where the national convention does not take place, although all complete applications will be considered.

How should advisers prepare?

Lining up the two prospective student attendees and obtaining administrator approval are two key steps prior to submitting the online form. The form asks advisers to submit each student’s name and some basic information and to indicate principal or administrator approval.

The grant covers hotel rooms, registration, pre-convention workshops, individual on-site contest entries, a publication critique, and for the adviser, admission to Outreach Academy.

You’ll need to arrange your own transportation and meals. Make sure this is financially possible and approved before submitting an application.

After the application window closes Aug. 24, our team will evaluate the submissions and will make an announcement in mid-September so the advisers selected will have plenty of time to plan and register online.

If you’re interested in attending the Philadelphia convention in November, we’ll open that application in August.

For questions, please email Valerie Kibler, MJE, at president@jea.org or vkibler@harrisonburg.k12.va.us.

Fall application deadline: Aug. 23, 2024