CSPA Workshop celebrates 72nd graduating class

The California Scholastic Press Association on Friday welcomed its 72nd group of workshop graduates.

During the 13-day journalism workshop that ended July 21, students completed a wide range of classes taught by volunteer instructors who work in journalism and media.

Classes included fundamentals — such as news writing, reporting and editing — as well as courses on journalism ethics, public relations and the role artificial intelligence could play in the industry’s future. 

Students completed the workshop’s signature classes, including covering testimony from a real criminal trial and reporting on a simulated natural disaster. Students also produced a television news broadcast, learned the ins and outs of public records laws, and learned specialty beats, including entertainment, politics, business and sports reporting.

Instructors provided hands-on feedback on all written assignments, as well as grades. Sara Eyjolfsdottir of Carmel High was the top scorer of the 2023 class, followed by Rajiv Venkatesh of Homestead High and Summer Hu of The Bishop’s School.

Named after the founders of the workshop, the Ralph and Millie Alexander award is given by CSPA instructors to the student who displayed all-around excellence in and out of the classroom. This year, Hu won the Ralph and Millie Alexander award. 

Ellie Keum of the Dwight-Englewood School received the Stan Kelton Award, given to a student who best embodied the spirit of the workshop. The Jay Berman Award, given to a student who excelled in multiple topoics, was awarded to Zaynah Shah of Amador Valley High.

Congratulations to all of our new alumni for completing the workshop. Welcome to the CSPA family.

Dates and tuition for the 2024 CSPA Workshop will be anounced in the fall.

Applications open for 72nd CSPA Workshop

The California Scholastic Press Association high school journalism workshop is returning to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in summer 2023 to welcome its 72nd class.

Applications for the residential workshop, planned for July 9-21, are open now. Click here to access the online application.

Students will be selected on a rolling basis, with the first notifications of acceptance going out in late March. We will continue to accept and review applications after the April 30 deadline for as long as seats remain available. Some applicants may be added to a waitlist due to the high volume of applicants.

The cost of the workshop is $2,250. Need-based financial support is available for accepted students. However, it is recommended to apply early if you are interested.

Have questions? Check out our FAQ page.

CSPA celebrates 71st annual graduating class

After a two-year hiatus, the California Scholastic Press Association’s annual summer journalism workshop for high school students returned to the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in July 2022.

The 71st annual workshop was the first to be held in person since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit held online workshops in the summers of 2020 and 2021.

The 2022 workshop had a shorter schedule than usual due to pandemic precautions. Over nine days, students completed 20 reporting, writing and multimedia assignments. They participated in mock breaking news exercises, polished their reporting and writing skills and learned from professional journalists.

It wasn’t all work, either: Students watched classic journalism movies, showed off their skills at a talent show, visited the San Luis Obispo farmers’ market and formed lasting friendships.

All 18 students from California and Nevada graduated at the end of the workshop, joining the long list of CSPA alumni, which includes numerous journalists at news organizations around the country.

Macy Li of Fremont Union High School earned the highest score across all assignments, while Chloe Liversidge of Polytechnic School in Pasadena was honored with the Ralph and Millie Alexander Award for all-around excellence.

And they’re back! 71st CSPA opens at Cal Poly

The 2022 edition of the CSPA High School Journalism Workshop marks a return to in-person learning

A class of 20 students returned to the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo after two summers away for the start of the CSPA summer journalism workshop on July 16.

Coming from as far away as Humboldt County, students settled into a campus dorm, started attending class in the Cal Poly graphic arts building and enjoyed dinner at Vista Grande dining complex before an evening of ice breakers and social time.

Instructor Gwen Wu (formerly of the San Francisco Chronicle) kicked off the workshop classes with lede writing. The first assignment paid tribute to CSPA’s long history of fictional earthquakes rattling the Central Coast.

The second day’s schedule includes newswriting, interviewing, profile writing and social media for newsgathering and classes from Wu, Meghan Bobrowsky (The Wall Street Journal) and Ellie Smith (Gannett/USA Today).

The workshop runs through July 24.

Applications open for 71st CSPA Workshop

Update: The application is now closed. To receive a notification when the 2023 application goes live, click here.

After two years of moving to a remote experience due to the pandemic, the California Scholastic Press Association high school journalism workshop is returning in person to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in summer 2022 to welcome its 71st class.

Applications for the residential workshop, planned for July 16-24, are open now. Click here to access the online application.

Students will be selected on a rolling basis, starting on Monday, April 18. The application deadline has been extended and will close Friday, July 8 at 11:59 p.m. or when the class has been finalized, whichever comes first.

The cost of the workshop is $1,250. Need-based financial support is available for accepted students. However, it is recommended to apply early if you are interested.

Learn more about our plans to return to Cal Poly SLO here.

Have questions? Check out our FAQ page.

CSPA set to return to Cal Poly this summer

Note: The deadline for applications has been extended to May 22. More details below!

After two years of moving to a remote experience due to the pandemic, the California Scholastic Press Association high school journalism workshop is returning in person to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in summer 2022 to welcome its 71st class.

Applications for the residential workshop, planned for July 16-24, will open on Friday, April 1.

Students will experience a taste of college life by living and working together for the duration of the workshop on the Cal Poly campus.

Have more questions about the CSPA Workshop? Visit our FAQs page.

While students with experience in journalism are encouraged to apply, the workshop is also a fantastic introduction to the professional media industry for a beginner or a student interested in improving their writing skills.

Students also will learn digital skills to go along with the journalistic principles that are vital in any medium.

The workshop will be held with the health and safety of students, counselors and faculty as our top priority. All will be required to be vaccinated (with booster) and proof will be required in advance. We will also meet or exceed all campus, county, state and federal guidelines for the duration of the workshop. 

Students will be selected on a rolling basis, starting on Monday, April 18. The application will close Sunday, May 22 at 11:59 p.m. or when the class has been finalized, whichever comes first.

The cost of the workshop is $1,250. Need-based financial support is available for accepted students. However, it is recommended to apply early if you are interested.