Many Credit Pottsville High Pub Room with Teaching Life Skills, Setting Career Path

The proposed cut to Pottsville Area School District’s Publications Department is being met with fierce public backlash.

So far, in just a few days, more than 2,400 people have signed an online petition at Change.org expressing disgust over a planned budget cut that would devastate the popular co-curricular program.

2,400+ Sign Petition to Save Pottsville Pub Dept. Advisor

The petition says students within Pottsville Area’s Publications Dept. were informed that next year, it would lose its full-time faculty advisor. Further, work in the Pub Dept. would be limited to just one school period during the day.

Pottsville’s Pub Dept. creates numerous publications throughout the school year, including the school’s online news site, the school yearbook, and more.

Earlier this week, a student-led effort to save that advisor’s position launched with an online petition. Since we first published news of this petition, signatures have increased by nearly 1,000.

And in that time, we’re hearing from current and former students on the impact their time — whether for 4 years or just 1 — with the Publications Dept. has had on their lives.

It’s obvious that working on this co-curricular activity is more than just writing an article for TideLines or helping assemble the annual yearbook.

Here is just a small section of the invaluable life skills students learn from the Publications Dept. at Pottsville:

• Team work
• Tangible reward for hard work
• Inter-personal relationships
• Working on a deadline
• Personal accountability
• Resourcefulness
• Creative thinking
• Research and fact-checking
• Decision making
• Writing
• Business basics, including business-to-business skills

These are skills that aren’t taught in a classroom or on an iPad.

It’s not often you hear of students who eagerly go to school early and stay late. That seems to be the norm with Pottsville Publications students.

This Pub Room at Pottsville High is credited with creating umpteen career paths for generations of students now. Some credit their work with Publications Dept. for getting them into college and preparing them for college and work.

Join the Cause

You can show your support of the effort to save the full-time position of Publications Advisor at Pottsville Area High School by signing the online petition here: https://www.change.org/p/pottsville-area-school-board-to-retain-the-full-time-publications-advisers-position.

There, you’ll also see hundreds of comments expressing their disgust over this latest questionable decision by Pottsville Area school officials.

Students and other supporters of the Publications Dept. plan to address the Pottsville school board at its next public meeting on March 17.

ALSO READ: 

• Pottsville School Officials Facing New Backlash Over Proposed Cut in Publication Department

Subscribe to Coal Region Canary

Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!

Support Coal Region Canary

Like our reporting and want to support truly local news in Schuylkill County? Your small donations help. For as little as $5, your contribution will allow us to cover more news that directly affects you. Consider donating today by hitting the big yellow button below ...