Best of SNO Superlatives

We’ve almost made it through another school year, and with that, another record-breaking nine months of Best of SNO submissions. Don’t believe us? Check out these stats.

As of mid-May, Best of SNO had…

• More than 20,000 stories submitted to it, since September
• Published approximately 3,500 pieces (an overall publication rate of 18%)
• 477 participating schools, worldwide
• 317 schools published at least once

While the end of this particular school year has been anything but normal, we’re clinging on to any sense of normalcy we can by handing out Best of SNO superlatives. So without further ado, here’s a sampling of some of our favorites:

Best (Aptly Named) Investigative Reporting
Digging Up Dirt, by Lillian Metzmeier, John Woodhouse, and Sky Carrol, On the Record Magazine at duPont Manual High School

Best Assignment Desk Stories
From the assignment desk prompts we gave you this year, Vaping, Impeachment, and Student Entrepreneurship, special mentions go to:

• The Vaping Experiment: Are We the Guinea Pigs?, by Nina Lavezzo-Stecopoulos and Noah Bullwinkle, Iowa City High School
• Impeachment explained, by Talia Lissauer and Marta Hill, St. Louis Park High School
• Student stylists showcase entrepreneurship skills, by Aaliyah Rapping, Henry W. Grady High School

Best Bilingual Reporting
Latin-o? -a? -que?, by Kimberly Medina and Brisayd Muniz, Paschal High School

Best of Colleges

• Heavy rain and cold temperatures impact homeless residents, by Jose Tobar, Juan Miranda, and Cameron Woods, El Camino College
• Nursing student walks down path of self-discovery, by Calen Moore, Seward County Community College
• What Used to be a Man’s World, by Anthony Erickson, Anoka-Ramsey Community College

Best Community-Based Reporting
“Welcome to Portland”: A Look Into the Lives of Three of Portland’s Homeless, by Maddie Khaw and Carlie Weigel, La Salle Catholic Preparatory High School

Best Continuous COVID-19 Coverage
Props to the staff of The Shield at McCallum High School for some of the most creative Coronavirus coverage angles we’ve read this year:

• Extended spring break is a time of knead, by Lindsey Plotkin
• Pandemic prompts proliferation of puppy parents, by Alysa Spiro
• What is COVID-19’s impact on the environment?, by Lucy Marco

Best Female Empowerment Story
Troop Four: A look inside one of the first all-girl Scout troops, by Holly Adams, Walt Whitman High School

Most Inclusive Reporting
Shedding Light on Special Education, by Kaitlyn Piggott, Troy High School

Best Coverage Involving a Speedo
Wacky hall passes keep students on their toes, by Julia Golovey, Granite Bay High School

Best Opinion Writing
How Do You Choose to Remember Kobe Bryant?, by Amanda Brauchler, Rock Canyon High School

Best Photo Essay
Final Countdown: Friday Night, by Meg Rees, North Allegheny Senior High School

Best Photo Illustrations
Unsustainable, by Annabel Hendrickson, Natalie Katz, and Marta Leira, Iowa City West High School

Best Review
American Dirt Lacks the True Migrant Experience, by Karen Portillo, Santaluces High School

Best Sports Story
Nine years in the making, senior gets his one shining moment, by Aaron Boehmer and Kirthi Gummadi, Liberty High School

Best Teachers Are People Too Story
San Ramon housing crisis prices teachers out, by Sraavya Sambara, Vivian Kuang, Sanjana Ranganathan, Michael Han, and Sneha Cheenath, Dougherty Valley High School

Best Video Feature
Chinatown cookie company delivers good fortune for 58 years and counting, by Kiana George, Carlmont High School

Best “Yang Gang” Coverage
Politics meets streetwear as presidential candidate Andrew Yang comes to Fairfax, by Sam Rubanowitz, Shalhevet High School

Most-Read Story
A Leader in Stars and Stripes, by Ianne Salvosa, Wentzville Liberty High School (2,961 views since February)

And there’s more where that came from. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading it all as much as we have.