Read all about it: Wilson High’s newspaper tackles crowding, DACA and more

It’s been a while since we called attention to the journalism at Wilson High School’s student-run newspaper, The Beacon. Last year, we told you about the student reporting on the new assessment tests, called PARCC, and how the DCPS central office’s requirements caught Wilson upperclassmen and staff by surprise.

Five years ago, it was The Beacon’s student reporters who noticed that Wilson had grown too crowded to accept out-of-boundary applications.

Their September 2017 issue finds the school just as overcrowded, if not more so, with unpredictable enrollment numbers that complicate per-student spending and instruction. “We can start on the first day with 1,690 and then have 1,810 and then go down again,” Principal Kimberly Martin told The Beacon. Why this happens is a fascinating read.

Another well-researched piece is on the demographic changes that have made Wilson, a majority black school just seven years ago, a whiter place.

These and other articles and op-eds would not be out of place in The Washington Post or The New York Times: the Wilson walkout in support its DACA students (in English and Spanish), the school’s first all-female color guard, DC gun violence, climate change, the student dress code, Confederate memorials, the Trump presidency.

It is a joy to see such professional journalism is alive and well at Wilson. You can download the September issue here, and we encourage you to subscribe to receive more newspapers throughout the school year. Donations and subscriptions make up The Beacon’s entire printing budget.