JEA Advisers Institute
July 14-16, 2025
The JEA Advisers Institute brings journalism teachers from across the country together for three days of adviser-specific training and networking.
Participants learn from other teachers, as well as industry partners and experts, so that advisers return to their schools with enhanced tools that strengthen their programs, including those with CTE funding.
All JEA spaces and events require participants to display professional behavior that is safe and inclusive of everyone. We look forward to your attendance.

Pricing and registration
Early bird registration pricing is available through March 14, regular pricing is available through June 30. All registration rates include a 2025 Advisers Institute T-shirt.
JEA members
Early bird: $199
Regular: $219
Nonmembers
Early bird: $229
Regular: $249
By registering for Advisers Institute, I confirm that I have read, understand and agree to the JEA Event Terms and Conditions.

Schedule
The first conference session starts at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, July 14 (registration check-in starts at 7:00 p.m.).
Tuesday, July 15 offers breakout sessions all day.
On Wednesday, July 16, all attendees will participate in our team storytelling workshop. This all-day event gets everyone out of the hotel to experience Providence. The conference ends Wednesday evening around 5 p.m.
All participants will receive a certificate of attendance.
Program
Regardless of your experience level or the type of media you advise, JEA Advisers Institute has programming specifically for you.
2025 Sessions:
Note: This session list is subject to change.
55 steps to better writing
We will talk about how you can use writing guru Roy Peter Clark’s Writing Tools to kick your students’ writing up a notch. Explore the tools and grab some unique ideas to add to your curriculum this fall.
Valerie Kibler, MJE, Harrisonburg (Virginia) High School
AI and photojournalism: Law and ethics
Artificial intelligence is changing every aspect of the news media — including photojournalism. Come discuss some ways AI is impacting photojournalism, how photographers can use generative AI and writing policies for photojournalists.
Bradley Wilson, MJE, Leander (Texas) High School
Bro…the struggle is real!
Being a journalism adviser isn’t just a job—it’s a marathon of multitasking that can feel isolating. Between selling ads, managing deadlines, motivating staff, grading, and juggling a million daily tasks, it’s easy to feel like no one truly gets what you do. In this interactive session, we’ll tackle the real struggles of advising head-on and share strategies to regain your footing and build a thriving newsroom. By the end of this session, you’ll leave with customizable tools, new ideas, and a renewed sense of purpose to help your students and program not just survive but thrive—even under the tightest deadlines.
Rachel Steil, MJE, Stillwater (Minnesota) Area High School
Coaching photographers
Grading student photojournalists and their work is one of the most challenging endeavors advisers undergo. Some learn some tips for establishing a coaching culture for the photography staff and get materials for grading photos and photographers.
Bradley Wilson, MJE, Leander (Texas) High School
Dig deep into profile writing
Sometimes, we need to take the time to really interview our subjects to get the real story. Through different examples, learn ways to develop strong profiles in your publication by considering the right style and angle.
Justin Daigle, MJE, Brighton (Colorado) High School
Fearless: 40 ideas to build your leadership team
Get ready to channel your inner Swifty and revolutionize your journalism program! This session will guide you through 40 Taylor Swift-inspired creative strategies to build cohesive teams, empower student leaders, and (hopefully) shake off newsroom drama. From handling deadline stress to fostering collaboration and trust, we’ll explore innovative activities and ideas inspired by Swift’s iconic lyrics and fearless spirit. Whether you're creating a Reputation for excellence or encouraging your staff to Speak Now, you’ll leave with practical low-prep ideas and a spark of creativity to build strength and student agency among your student journalists. Let’s make this your newsroom’s Wildest Dream!
Rachel Steil, MJE, Stillwater (Minnesota) Area High School
Get a grip on grading
Leave this session with a concrete grading methodology that makes you happy along with ways to get a grip on advising multiple levels/publications during the same class period. You’re willing to do anything to save your program, so you’ve agreed to take multiple publications in the same room during a single block and/or you have a variety of experience levels in the same room. It’s ok, you can become the master ringleader of your own circus.
Valerie Kibler, MJE, Harrisonburg (Virginia) High School
Let’s ChatGPT: 10 tips for using AI to elevate your program
Advising a journalism program is demanding, but AI can be your secret weapon for saving time and streamlining workflows. Explore practical ways to use AI tools to tackle repetitive tasks, boost organization, and free up more time for creative teaching and mentorship. Learn 10 tips for leveraging AI without replacing the human element. By the end of this session, you’ll be an AI-savvy adviser, ready to help your students tackle your next big story with cutting-edge tech! Whether you’re reporting on breaking news or crafting a feature, AI can help you work smarter, faster, and more creatively.
Rachel Steil, MJE, Stillwater (Minnesota) Area High School
Level up your lessons
This session will guide you through the updated website and rich resources of the JEA Curriculum Library, designed to support journalism educators at every level. We'll explore lesson plans, curriculum maps, assessments, and all of the free tools available to JEA members. Along the way, you’ll exchange ideas with fellow educators, brainstorm creative ways to implement resources, and build a personalized toolkit to enhance your teaching. By the end of this session, you’ll walk away inspired, equipped, and ready to make the most of everything the JEA Curriculum Library has to offer.
Rachel Steil, MJE, Stillwater (Minnesota) Area High School
Send me in, coach
Working with members of your staff to improve their writing, designs or photography can be difficult. This session will focus on providing strategies for training your staff to coach one another through the revision process.
Justin Daigle, MJE, Brighton (Colorado) High School
Social media ROI
From Instagram to X to YouTube, social media is a way to cover events in a timely fashion and to market student media activities from yearbook sales to story publication. Come discuss how to make this a positive return on investment, not just another time-consuming task.
Bradley Wilson, MJE, Leander (Texas) High School
Standards-based grading in a publications classroom
A lot of schools have done professional development around grading or encouraged staff to read Joe Feldman's Grading for Equity since the pandemic. But few of those efforts take account of publications teachers and their unique challenges. Hear from a veteran publications adviser who has led his school's grading reform efforts about how to equitably grade your students based on standards -- without driving yourself crazy.
Brian Baron, Newton (Massachusetts) South High School
Stop, collaborate and listen: 10 tips for leaders
One of the toughest (but best) opportunities you can have is to serve as an editor or leader of a publication. Learn 10 tips to help guide you as you lead your staff to produce the best publication for your school.
Justin Daigle, MJE, Brighton (Colorado) High School
Talk about differentiation! How to move to a truly converged media
The pub room is one of the few places in your school where you have a million things going on in one space at the same time. How do you manage keeping everyone on track? Let’s explore some management practices that can make you feel more comfortable as you teach them all.
Valerie Kibler, MJE, Harrisonburg (Virginia) High School
Teaching journalistic writing using the AP Language model
The AP Language and Composition course gives teachers flexibility to teach a lot of high-level journalism. Get some tips and tricks from a teacher who has been teaching Lang using an Intensive Journalistic Writing model for more than 20 years.
Brian Baron, Newton (Massachusetts) South High School
The top 10 things high school journalism advisers can learn about building an audience from online content creators (No. 7 changed my world!)
A lot of the internet is just so much clickbait. But the content creators who grow an audience online have to build trust from the ground up, and journalists of all stripes can learn from them. I'll share some insights from a recent Shorenstein Center study and show how you can apply them to grow the audience for your school publication.
Brian Baron, Newton (Massachusetts) South High School
With great power comes great responsibility
Spiderman was right; helping students find their voice in a politically charged environment can feel like navigating a minefield. In this session, you’ll learn how to guide your students in crafting thoughtful, persuasive opinion pieces and editorials while fostering civil discourse and critical thinking. Explore techniques to teach students how to research responsibly, tackle tough topics with nuance, and balance strong viewpoints with journalistic integrity. From avoiding echo chambers to addressing controversial issues with respect, this workshop will equip you with the tools to help your students write with impact and lead the conversation, not fuel the fire.
Rachel Steil, MJE, Stillwater (Minnesota) Area High School
Speakers
Brian Baron
Brian Baron advises the Regulus yearbook, coordinates school publications and chairs the English department at Newton (Massachusetts) South High School. He has previously advised the school's print newspaper, The Lion's Roar, and its online publication, Denebola. He has been active in high school journalism within the state for the last 25 years, and is the current board secretary of the New England Scholastic Press Association.
Justin Daigle, MJE
Justin Daigle, MJE, advises the Reflections yearbook at Brighton (Colorado) High School. Over 19 years, his students' publications have earned state and national awards including CSPA Silver and Gold Crowns, NSPA Pacemakers, and Best of Show trophies. Daigle has received the NSPA Pioneer Award (2024), CSPA Gold Key (2024), CSPA Distinguished Adviser of the Year (2024), CSMA Adviser of the Year (2009), JEA Rising Star (2010), Medal of Merit (2022) and H.L. Hall Yearbook Adviser of the Year (2024). He is the current JEA Vice-President.
Valerie Kibler, MJE
Valerie J. Kibler, MJE, teaches at Harrisonburg (Virginia) High School, where she has advised the print and online newspaper for 27 years, yearbook for six and is embarking on the world of broadcast journalism this year for the first time. All of these courses are mixed in different blocks with different levels of experience in each class. Prior to coming to Harrisonburg, she taught for 10 years at Marion Senior High School in Marion, Virginia where she began her advising career. She earned her undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech in 1988 and her graduate degree in journalism education from Kent State University in 2014. Kibler currently teaches the Advising Student Media course for Kent State’s online program. She was the local chair for the 2009 and 2014 JEA/NSPA conventions in Washington, D.C. and currently serves as JEA president. She has served on the NSPA Board of Directors and continues to serve on the Virginia Association of Journalism Teachers and Advisers Board. Kibler helped begin jCamp and jDay in Virginia and helped found the JEA/NSPA Partner Project to reach underserved regions of the country. She was named the 2010 Dow Jones News Fund’s National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year and has received the JEA Carl Towley Award, the Pioneer Award from NSPA, Medal of Merit from JEA, the Gold Key Award from CSPA, SIPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award and VAJTA’s Thomas Jefferson Award. She was inducted into the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame in 2020. In the past, Kibler has developed and taught a leadership class curriculum for two different high schools and served as the first leadership module leader for the JEA curriculum. In addition to teaching AP English Language, she also sponsored the student council for 30 years and coached girls varsity volleyball for 20 years.
Rachel Steil, MJE
Rachel Steil, MJE, is a 27-year veteran newspaper adviser of the award-winning Pony Express newspaper at Stillwater Area High School since 1999. She was awarded the Minnesota Journalism Education Advisor of the Year in 2018 and Minnesota Teacher of the Year Finalist in 2015 and 2020. Rachel is also a Career Pathways Coordinator and passionate about CTE, concurrent enrollment and hands-on learning opportunities. Prior to teaching, Rachel interned at KARE 11, NBC affiliate, and ABC's Nightline with Ted Koppel.
Bradley Wilson, MJE
Publications adviser and instructor at Leander (Texas) High School, Bradley Wilson, MJE, received his doctoral degree in public administration with research work in media agenda-setting and local governments. Wilson is the editor of the national magazine, Communication: Journalism Education Today, for the national Journalism Education Association. In 2020, the Scholastic Journalism Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication gave him the David Adams Educator of the Year Award. He has received the Gold Key from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the Pioneer Award from the National Scholastic Press Association and the Carl Towley Award from the Journalism Education Association. In 2014, the National Press Photographers Association named him the Robin F. Garland Educator of the Year. Publications he advised, including yearbook, newspaper, literary magazine, radio and video have received numerous awards including Gold Crown awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and Pacemaker awards from the Associated Collegiate Press (four for yearbook and five for literary magazine).
Questions? Email JEA headquarters at staff@jea.org.
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