All female editorial staff and advisor Charla Harris lead Pleasant Grove to national yearbook and newspaper honors

An all-female staff of two Pleasant Grove journalism department publications won big at a national awards ceremony.

Six women who edited PG's Hawk yearbook and the Edge newspaper led their staffs to victory with prestigious awards from Columbia University last month.

The journalism department's advisor is also an accomplished woman, Charla Harris.

The awards were presented at the Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Crown Ceremony to the 2021 newspaper and yearbook staff, including Edge newspaper editors Delia Tuttlebee, Delaynie Keeney, and Alex Norton.

The award-winning Hawk yearbook editors were Hailee Partin, Katie Ferguson, and Madilyn Morse.

For the yearbook, it was the 10th time the Pleasant Grove High School Journalism Department earned the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown.  

Awards were presented from Columbia University on March 18, 2022

Advisor Charla Harris is a well-known name in high school journalism circles nationwide and has won numerous accolades herself,  including National High School Yearbook Adviser of the Year in 2019.

Harris came to Pleasant Grove in the late 1980s after receiving her degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

The hands of Harris have shaped every yearbook and newspaper issue at Pleasant Grove ever since, and students constantly remark on her tenacity and leadership in helping students learn about the importance of accuracy and fairness in journalism along with essential concepts of design.

The Hawk yearbook and the Edge newspaper received the Gold Crown award, the most prestigious award given by the CSPA, with more than 817 publications entering the competition. 

Crowns are selected for overall excellence in a head-to-head comparison.