Hometown Hero
The Write Stuff
Dr. Christina Tangora Schlachter (aka Mrs. Colorado) & her Junior Journalists Words Amber Giauque Callender
T
he mountains brought Dr. Christina Tangora Schlachter and her family to Boulder, and she brought with her a serious passion for community. Meet Dr. Schlachter. She’s a mother of two young boys, holds the 2014 title of Mrs. Colorado International, is an avid triathlete, an accomplished writer, team builder and communication coach. She’s also a philanthropist who loves an old-fashioned newspaper, which is why, in her spare time, she started Boulder’s Junior Journalists; a growing program building literacy and global awareness for young readers. In college, Christina was awarded “Miss Congeniality” in the Miss Miami pageant, and she sold her award to pay for international study. This study and travel was the beginning of her commitment to community and to giving. She fell in love with Ethiopia, where she has worked on behalf of access to education and where she adopted her young son, Wetera. Back in the States and while growing her family, Christina studied the impact of media on decision-making and perspective, and saw the beauty of journalism light up her son’s eyes as he ran out each morning to get his hands on the sports section of the newspaper. Christina realized that current events could be an inspiration for Boulder students as they connected with the larger community and improved their literacy. She contacted Newspapers in Education, and a partnership was born. Today, children at three Boulder schools are immersed as Junior Journalists. Kindergarteners are cutting out photos they find interesting and learning the story behind the shot, including learning about the rainforest via an engaging photo of a bat in a toad’s mouth. Chance Gauss is one of these budding journalists. His mother Melanie explains, “When he (Chance) came home from school, he was so excited to share a picture of a bat that had been captured by a toad and tell me the story of how it happened. The following Sunday, he
38 Boulder Lifestyle | January 2014
asked if he could have the paper, and he gave the lesson to his younger brother. It’s become a regular weekend activity for each of them to flip through the newspaper to find things that interest them and then share them with us.” As a Fellow at the Fielding Institute for Social Innovation, Christina is focused on the results of this program. She’ll be looking at how connecting to journalism has impacted students in the classroom and at home; measuring increased capacity for community awareness, communication and presentation skills, and basic literacy levels. The curriculum is connected to the Common Core State Standards, with all lessons building on research and knowledge. There’s no way to measure the effect of feeling a real, paper newspaper, but Christina believes there is an impact. For her, the sparks of imagination while perusing the paper is proof enough. Junior Journalists is currently 100 percent volunteer driven, including a full day each week given to classrooms by Christina. Newspapers and time are donated, but as they grow, volunteers will be key, and Christina is interested in expanding technological capabilities for students second grade and beyond. She dreams of each student being able to access an iPad, where community is at their fingertips via current events and where various languages can be accessed more easily. By 2015, Christina would like to see Junior Journalists in at least eight schools, with the hope of growing nationwide in the years to come. Volunteer training is simple, and the program is easily replicated. “The program and curriculum are well-developed and well-loved,” Christina says. “They’re just waiting to be activated.” To learn more about Junior Journalists, including how you can bring the program to your school or incorporate the curriculum into homeschooling, please visit JuniorJournalists.org.