The student-produced newspaper at Van Nuys High School, The Mirror, took home recognition as one of the nation’s top high school publications by winning two 2017 National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) awards which were announced at the organization’s fall convention in Dallas. The Mirror staff placed third in the Design of the Year: Newsmagazine Page/Spread category for the December 2016 issue centerspread “All Hail the Hater-in-Chief.” Reporters Khrista Sayo and Elissa Choi garnered an Honorable Mention in the Story of the Year: Diversity Series category for their article “How Race Plays a Role in College Admissions,” which appeared in the same issue. Each year, NSPA judges sift through thousands of entries in search of the nation’s best examples of scholastic journalism. Van Nuys High School is home to the only Los Angeles Unified School District journalism program to be recognized by the NSPA in 2017, joining a handful of other schools in California. The school has continuously published a student newspaper for over 100 years. Last year, the school switched to a newsmagazine format to offer more in-depth coverage of the issues facing its readers, and began a website, vnhsmirror.com to provide continuous news coverage in addition to the monthly newspaper. —Tommy Chan on November 29, 2017