A Jupiter Middle School Journalism Teacher Is Headed to a National Conference to Share What's Working in Her Classroom
Sireesha Rutter's students will tell you she doesn't let much slide.
"She is the sweetest, kindest soul, but she'll tell you straight-up if something is not right," said Emma Patterson, an 8th-grade journalism student at Jupiter Middle School.
That combination — warmth and rigor — is apparently what the national media literacy community wants to hear more about. This week, Rutter is in Salt Lake City speaking at the News Literacy Project's annual conference, where she'll address hundreds of educators and media professionals gathered from across the United States to share what's working in classrooms right now.
Her message is rooted in something personal. Rutter didn't become a journalism teacher because of a curriculum requirement — she's been drawn to the work her whole life.
"I'm a lifelong lover of journalism, and I've had it since I was a kid," she told WPTV. "I think I just love learning about the world, and I think we're just one spot on a big planet, and I want my kids to know what's happening out there."
That mindset shapes how she teaches. The goal isn't just to produce school newspaper stories — it's to help students understand how information works, where it comes from, how to evaluate it, and why it matters that someone gets things right.
The News Literacy Project is a national nonprofit focused on building those critical thinking skills in students and educators. Its annual conference brings together teachers, journalists, and researchers working on media literacy from every corner of the country. Being invited to speak puts Rutter on a stage alongside people doing this work at a national level — a recognition that what she's built at a Jupiter middle school is worth modeling.
For a community that depends on informed citizens to engage with local issues — school board decisions, tax rates, development proposals, public safety — having a teacher at Jupiter Middle School who is nationally recognized for teaching students how to read the news critically is a meaningful thing.
Source/Image: WPTV