Nixa High School’s journalism program has earned the George H. Gallup Award from the Quill & Scroll International Honor Society for High School Journalists, placing the school among the nation’s top high school journalism programs, according to a community announcement and Quill & Scroll rankings. The award recognizes student work published during the 2025-26 school year and was based on evaluations of the student-produced magazine Wingspan, the EagleAir TV broadcast program, NixaJournalism.net and the program’s Instagram presence.
The Quill & Scroll evaluation judged Nixa Journalism in five categories: General Practices, Coverage, Writing and Editing, Visuals and Digital Media. Judges awarded Superior ratings in General Practices, Coverage, Writing and Editing and Visuals,
along with an Excellent rating in Digital Media, qualifying the program for the organization’s highest honor.
Recognition for comprehensive student journalism
The evaluation praised the breadth and depth of Nixa students’ reporting across multiple platforms.
Among the judge’s overall comments: “The students at Nixa High School valiantly exceed the usual expectations of high school journalism. You celebrate awesome news, you gently probe difficult issues, and you focus on the frustrations and joys of life in high school.”
Judges also highlighted the program’s willingness to tackle complex topics during the school year, noting coverage of issues including homelessness, vaccines and immigration enforcement, while continuing to provide feature stories, student profiles and broadcast coverage designed for the school community. The critique described Wingspan and EagleAir TV as “fearless” and commended students for producing clear, well-sourced reporting.
The review recognized strong journalism fundamentals, citing the staff’s commitment to ethical reporting, diverse sourcing, accurate writing and thoughtful storytelling. Judges also praised the publication’s visual presentation, photography, illustrations and video production quality.
Constructive feedback for future growth
While awarding its highest honor, the evaluation also included recommendations for continued improvement.
Judges encouraged the staff to further develop NixaJournalism.net as a destination for more frequent coverage and daily news updates. The critique noted that the website could better complement the quarterly publication schedule of Wingspan by providing additional reporting on school events, student government, athletics and other ongoing school activities.
The evaluation also recommended greater integration among the program’s various media platforms and continued attention to proofreading, website organization and audience engagement strategies.
Despite those suggestions, the judge concluded that Nixa Journalism has created a meaningful and trusted voice for its audience.
More information about the Quill & Scroll News Media Evaluations program is available at quillandscroll.org.
This story was produced with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Nixa journalism program earns Quill & Scroll’s top Gallup Award
