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MARCH 2026
VOL. 37 NO. 07
Attic writers step up for The Phoenix By Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta Correspondent The Montclair Public School District is dealing with a financial crisis. The district is facing a budget deficit of approximately $19.6 million, which has led to teacher layoffs and clubs being cut. A Montclair High School English teacher was concerned the school would lose its literary magazine, The Phoenix, which is a digital publication. Students from Montclair High School’s Creative Writing Club put the magazine together with as many as 30 kids working on the publication as writers, artists, and photographers. To keep the magazine going, $750 was needed to publish for another year according to English teacher Jessica Buel. “When we found out in October (that funding was cut) they (the students) were worried about the future of the club and the literary magazine,” she said. Evan Dickerson teaches radio broadcasting, creative writing, and film analysis at Nutley High School. He’s also the literary advisor to Nutley High School’s literary magazine, The Attic. Literary magazines are important to Dickerson. The Attic has been around since 1920 and it’s important for him to keep it going. When he saw an article on a local news site about Montclair schools being in a deficit, he knew he’d be devastated if he was a senior, was able to publish something, and then have it taken away from him. “I assumed things were bad, but I didn’t know first-hand,” he said. “All I knew, they were losing funding for their magazine. I shot her (Buel) an email.” Buel and Dickerson had worked together before at the Montclair Literary Festival. When Dickerson offered Buel help, she jumped at the chance. Dickerson arranged to have a fundraiser open mic at the Montclair Film Theater last month. “They do amazing community events,” Dickerson said. “I had a lot of friends there. I reached out to a buddy of
Photos by Darshini Radhakrishnan
Above, Nutley High School student Jake Bing takes the stage at a fundraiser for Montclair High School’s literary magazine. Below, Montclair High School teacher Jessica Buel and Nutley High School teacher Evan Dickerson.
mine. They hosted us. It’s a very different vibe being in a beautiful theater as opposed to a school cafeteria. Allowing us to host it there was special because of their kindness.” On Jan. 15, students from both Nutley and Montclair high schools participated in the open mic. Some students read poetry, others read short fiction. Musicians sang and played guitar. “A large range of expression,” said Dickerson. Between donations and snacks sold, $500 was raised, which will cover a partial of the costs to keep The Phoenix up and running another year.
Matthew De Fede
The Knowledge & Experience You Can Trust.
Buel said that the students were amazed. “Our stress was eased by the giving nature of another group of students,” she said. Being a Nutley resident herself, Buel found the event to be very heartwarming. “Looking out at the audience and seeing community members, and seeing students that I love and care for, having these two groups come together, it was full circle for me,” Buel said. Buel said that she was under the impression that she and Dickerson were going to split the funds earned for their schools. “Having Mr. Dickerson give us all the funds that night was amazing,” Buel said. “We don’t know what we’re going to face, but this is certainly helpful.” Dickerson said that his intention from the start was to give the entire funds raised to Buel, though she offered to split it. “I was thrilled to raise the funds and find a worthy cause,” he said. “We live in a time where the arts are being defunded. We need to protect that as much as we can.”
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