The Journalism Education Association has announced that 13 journalism teachers and media advisers will receive the Rising Star Award in 2016.

The Rising Star Award honors scholastic student media advisers who have completed five or fewer years in the profession. Established in 2006, it honors new advisers who have shown a commitment to involvement and improvement for themselves and their students.

“The Rising Star Award is so valuable to JEA because it reminds us all that our profession is in great hands,” President Mark Newton said. “The winners each year are proof positive that when energy and enthusiasm meet vision and skill we all get better. Obviously, the winners ’get it’ and being recognized for that means we all, young and experienced, get better.”

A total of 109 advisers have been honored since the award’s inception, and many have gone on to greater involvement in local, state and national scholastic journalism organizations.

The 2016 Rising Star Award recipients will be honored at the Saturday luncheon of the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Convention in Los Angeles April 14-17. They are as follows:

• Samantha Berry, Cypress Creek High School, Houston, Texas
• Kyle Carter, Richland Jr./Sr. High School, Essex, Missouri
• Ashley Clark, East Bay High School, Gibsonton, Florida
• Katie Frazier, Seven Lakes Junior High School, Katy, Texas
• Rebekah Goode-Peoples, CJE, Woodward Academy, College Park, Georgia
• Patrick Johnson, CJE, Antioch (Illinois) Community High School
• Kari Koshiol, Benilde-St. Margaret’s School, St. Louis Park, Minnesota
• Kevin Patterson, Oviedo (Florida) High School
• Teresa Scribner, CJE, Cleveland STEM High School, Seattle
• Emily Smith, CJE, Pittsburg (Kansas) High School
• Barbara Tholen, CJE, Lawrence (Kansas) High School
• Leslie Thompson, CJE, Conifer (Colorado) High School
• Leah Waters, CJE, Creekview High School, Carrollton, Texas

The Journalism Education Association is a national organization of scholastic journalism teachers and school media advisers. It is headquartered at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.