Student Publications teacher Tom Hayes was recently one of eight scholastic journalism teachers honored by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in New York.

Hayes was one of three teachers given the Special Recognition award by CSPA. He will participate in a panel discussion about scholastic journalism during the CSPA annual convention March 21 on the Columbia University campus in New York.

The CSPA announced on Monday that Melissa Falkowski of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, had been named the 2019 National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year.

Falkowski, the former yearbook adviser who now works as an English teacher and media adviser at Stoneman Douglas, will receive the honor at the upcoming CSPA Spring Convention at Columbia University in New York City on March 21.

Four advisers were named Distinguished Advisers, including:

• Erinn Harris, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Virginia
• Debra Klevens, Parkway West High School, Ballwin, Missouri
• David Ragsdale, Clarke Central High School, Athens, Georgia
• Julia Satterthwaite, Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, California

Hayes is in his 14th year advising newspaper, yearbook and arts magazine at Ben Davis. He was named the 2018 Faculty Adviser of Student Publications by the National Federation of Press Women and he was 2018 Indiana journalism teacher of the year by the Women’s Press Club.

Additional advisers who were named Special Recognition included:

• Liz Palmer, duPont Manuel High School, Louisville, Kentucky
• Michael Reeves, James Bowie High School, Austin, Texas

The National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year Awards program is managed and sponsored by CSPA and co-sponsored by Dow Jones News Fund, with support from the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and The Wall Street Journal.