The SNO Academy: Virtual Interactive Classes for Media Advisers and Student Journalists

We are excited to announce that SNO Sites is partnering with a group of the nation’s top journalism instructors to launch The SNO Academy, a series of live, interactive virtual classes for journalism advisers and student journalists this summer. Each course is limited to 12 participants and will be delivered via a Zoom video call and a private Slack channel.

The initial courses cover a wide range of journalism-related topics and classes vary in length and time commitment. And this is just a start. We will continue to add to the course list as we hear back from you. If there’s a class you would love to take but isn’t offered, let us know, and we’ll try to find the right instructor to develop a new class.

Classes start at $49 per student and fees are due at the time of registration. If you want to sign up for a course and need an alternate way to pay, send us an email and we’ll work out the details with you.

Look through the list of courses below and please share the details with any of your students that may be looking for training this summer.


Tracy Anderson
Tracy has been advising journalism students on The Communicator at Community High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan for 20 years.

Tracy’s Courses
• Improve your Writing
• The Secret to Stunning Narratives
• How to Revamp During COVID-19 and Plan for the Future
• Interview Like a Pro
View Dates and Times >


Mitch Eden
Mitch is in his 24th year of teaching, the past 14 at Kirkwood (Missouri) High School. He advises The Kirkwood Call newsmagazine, Pioneer yearbook and TheKirkwoodCall.com website.

Mitch’s Courses
• 10 Habits of a (sometimes) Successful Adviser
• Editorial Leadership
• Socialnomics
• Culture Club
View Dates and Times >


Karl Grubaugh
Karl, who spent two decades advising the Gazette student newspaper and GraniteBayToday.org student news website at Granite Bay High in Northern California, is retiring at the end of May.

Karl’s Courses
• Adviser Intensive
View Dates and Times >


Ivy Kaplan
Ivy is an education and training specialist at SNO Sites. Before coming to SNO, she held several editorial positions in the greater Washington, D.C. area after majoring in journalism at American University.

Ivy’s Courses
• Prepare Your SNO Website for Special Coverage
• Best of SNO Workshop
• SNO Distinguished Site Workshop
• Storytelling on Social Media
View Dates and Times >


Kari Koshiol
Awarded the JEA Rising Star in 2016, Kari Koshiol has been working with scholastic journalists for 10 years. She currently advises the Knight Errant, which is an award-winning publication that has a monthly print edition, a quarterly magazine, and a website.

Kari’s Courses
• Editing: It’s More Than Commas
• Grading Without Points
View Dates and Times >


Alex McNamee
Alex is an education and training specialist at SNO Sites. He’s been a writer, editor and designer at student publications of every level and majored in journalism at Eastern Illinois University. Before SNO, he worked the daily prep sports beat for newspapers across Illinois.

Alex’s Courses
• Analytical Thinking
• Modern Website Design
View Dates and Times >


Matt Rasgorshek
Matt is an award-winning journalism adviser at Creighton Prep in Omaha, NE. He has advised video and online publications that have received state, regional and national recognition.

Matt’s Courses
• Video Production 101
• Video for Advisers
View Dates and Times >


Matthew Schott
Matthew is the publications adviser at Francis Howell Central High School in Cottleville, Mo., where he advises the website, yearbook, newspaper, broadcast and literary magazine. His publications and students are regularly honored for their work both as publications and individually.

Matthew’s Courses
• Photography Basics
• Develop Your Photographic Style
• Photograph Adjectives Not Nouns
View Dates and Times >


Jim Streisel
Jim is the adviser of the HiLite newsmagazine and website at Carmel (Ind.) H.S. He was the 2013 DJNF Adviser of the Year. He’s also in a band called The Dead Squirrels, which is pretty cool.

Jim’s Courses
• The Foundations of News Writing
• Interviewing 101
• Establishing a Beat System
• Making Your Stories More Visual
View Dates and Times >