2025 FIRST STATE HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST

Scroll down to HS Contest Award Winners to see the 2024 Delaware’s State and  National High School Contest Results

Delaware Press Association offers an annual statewide High School Communications Contest for student journalists / communicators, with an opportunity for first-place winners in the DPA contest to enter the NFPW national competition. From time to time we offer seminars and workshops for high school journalists and their advisers, focusing on issues such as ethics and editorial responsibility, the new technology, and First Amendment rights and responsibilities. We believe it is vital to support these bright young future communicators and citizens, and we treat them as professional colleagues.

DPA HS Contest Director: Lydia Timmins   Contact: 302-521-4784; Lydiat@udel.edu

Please read the Rules, Guidelines, and How-to-enter information below
before clicking either link below to access the contest site.

 

CREATE DPA FIRST STATE HS COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST ACCOUNT

The first time you go to the contest site, the HS Adviser will use the link above to create a contest account. Note: If you set up a contest account in a previous year, use the link below instead.
Where you see “Click here to register, if you don’t already have a username/password,” click “here,” enter your email address (which will become your username) in the “New Users” section, click Register, and retrieve an email from NFPW for creating your password. Once you have established the account, thereafter use the link below to access the contest.

CREATE CONTEST ACCOUNT AND ENTER THE DPA HS COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST

Anytime after creating the Contest Account use this link to go directly to the DPA HS Contest entry site and choose the large indigo button: Enter the High School Contest. Note: If the NFPW logo appears on the Welcome page instead of DPA’s,  click “Find your Competition” at the top of the page, then click on “Delaware Press Association” to access the Delaware contest page.

RULES and GUIDELINES

Delaware Press Association hosts the annual First State High School Communications Contest for both public and private schools throughout the State of Delaware. All entries must be the work of high school students and must have been published between February 1, 2024, and January 31, 2025.

Professional journalists and communications specialists serve as contest judges. First, second, and third place and honorable mention will be awarded. The first-place entry in each category will be advanced to the national competition. An awards ceremony takes place each spring to honor the state winners and their advisers.

Deadline: All entries must be submitted by Wednesday, February 9, 2022.

Eligibility: All 2025 state and national entries must have been published, e-published, broadcast or issued between February 1, 2024, and January 31, 2025.

Categories: Students may enter any of the 23 categories and may submit work in more than one category. You may access all categories here or, when submitting the entries, from the contest site.

ACCESS ALL CATEGORIES AND CATEGORY DESCRIPTORS

Entry Fee: The per-entry fee is $3.00.

HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST

Decide on the work to be entered and identify the category in which each work sample will be submitted. Be SURE the entry was published between Feb. 1, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2025. Use the Categories link above to read the descriptor for each category to be entered to assess whether the work meets that set of criteria.

As detailed above:
Use the first contest entry link at the top or at the end of the HS Contest page to create an account. If you set up a contest account in a previous year, use the second link.

Use the second contest entry-form link after the account has been created to go directly to the Delaware Contest page (DPA logo at the top).

NOTE: Because we share the contest site with the other NFPW affiliates, the NFPW logo appears on the Welcome page if the contest is accessed through the NFPW website. If you see the NFPW logo, click “Find your Competition” at the top of the page, then click on Delaware Press Association to access the Delaware contest page.

Page 1

CREATE ACCOUNT and LOGIN

  1. Account: The high school ADVISER will fill in the Account Profile (left side of the page).
  2. Type in adviser name and contact information. When asked for member status, choose Member. At the end of the form, create an easy-to-remember password for all of your students to use. SAVE.
  3. Login:  Thereafter, to access the high school contest, the adviser OR the students will type in the adviser’s email address and the password the adviser created.
  4. Setting up a student entry: Login and choose “Click here to create a new submission.”  The adviser profile information always must appear at the top of the page. Advisers only may change any of that information. Scroll down to ENTRANT DETAILS.
    a) Do NOT check the box that says the entrant is the same as the submitter.
    b) Fill in the name and required information of the entrant – the student who created the work to be submitted into the contest. When asked for member status, choose Student.
  5. Co-entrants: At the end of the page, choose Yes if there are co-entrants or No if not. If Yes, a form will be provided to fill in with co-entrant name(s) and email address(es). SAVE.
  6. Submit the entry: If ready to enter the work sample, choose SAVE and NEXT.
  7. Returning to contest at a later date: If entrant saves initial work but does not complete all entries before logging out, on re-entry, look for “My Applications” in the box on the left side of the screen to choose
    a) In Progress: Use the small blue Edit link to continue work on that entry.
    b) In Cart: Review entries, or use the Select link to retrieve an entry to make changes.

Page 2

CATEGORY CHOICE, ENTRY DETAILS, FILE UPLOADS/URLS

  1. Category: Review category information here or from the contest site.
    Click the (select) dropdown box to choose the category.
         Choose WRITING for categories 1 – 7:
         1. Editorial, 2.Opinion, 3. News Story, 4. Feature Story, 5. Sports Story, 6. Columns or Blogs, 7. Review.
         Choose NEWS for categories 8 – 13. When you see “Visual” in the next field, click the arrow to choose:
         8. News or feature photo, 9. Sports photo, 10. Cartooning, 11. Graphics/Photo Illustration, 12. Single-page layout; 13. Double-truck layout.
         Choose ENVIRONMENT for category 14:
           14. Environment.
         Choose BROADCAST or VIDEO for categories 15 – 20:
         15. Radio prepared report, 16. Radio / Television Interview or Talk Show, 17. Best Newscast, 18. Video news story, 19. Video Feature story, 20. Video sports story.
         Choose YEARBOOK for categories 21 – 23:
         21. Yearbook layout, 22. Yearbook photo, 23. Yearbook copywriting.
  2. Title: Type the title of the entry in the next field. Fill in the rest of the required entry details.
  3. Uploads or URLs. Though required to choose to upload work sample(s) or furnish URL(s), either can be provided regardless of the choice. Any uploaded page(s) will be visible. A link will appear below the field in which a URL is typed or pasted so the entrant may verify it is working properly.
  4.  SAVE or choose Add to Cart either to “Review” or to “Make Another Submission.”

Page 3

REVIEW AND CHECKOUT

  1. Review: Look at the details provided about all entries, including each entry title and entry ID #.
  2. Make changes: To return to an entry to review details or make changes, click the small Select link in the upper right corner of the entry.
  3. Add Another Entry: Click if there is other work to submit.
  4. Checkout: ADVISERS ONLY. At the bottom of the page, click Checkout to pay for student entries when all work has been submitted.

Page 4

PAYMENT

  1. Payment: At the top of Checkout page, advisers will see “Total amount due” for all  entries submitted to date and, beneath it, the two payment options. Choose the first option, Pay by Check, only.
  2. Process:A single check, made payable to: Delaware Press Association, should be written by the high school adviser for all entries from his/her school and mailed to DPA’s contest director:
    Dr. Lydia Timmins | 373 West Chestnut Hill Road | Newark, DE  19713
    If more work is submitted thereafter, entrants may return to the contest anytime before the final February 11, 2025, deadline. Mail a check for any additional entries.
  3. Logout: Determine whether there are other things you wish to do during this session. If not, in the box on the left side of the page, click Log Out.

Click the first link below to create a Contest Account and access the contest site.

CREATE CONTEST ACCOUNT AND ENTER THE 2020 DPA HS COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST

Click the link below to go directly to the HS contest entry form.

ACCESS THE 2022 DPA FIRST STATE HS COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST ENTRY FORM

Call or write anytime you have a question or need help:

DPA HS Contest Director, Lydia Timmins:  302-531-4784 or lydiat@udel.edu.

OR

Contest Consultant, Katherine Ward: 302-655-2175 or DelawarePress@aol.com.