Empowering the Minds of Tomorrow
- Nicole Tafe
- Aug 8, 2024
- 2 min read
Sewickley Academy librarian Lindsay Downs is honored as the News Literacy Project’s 2024 Alan C. Miller Educator of the Year.
Lindsay Downs, a dedicated librarian at Sewickley Academy, has been honored as the News Literacy Project’s 2024 Alan C. Miller Educator of the Year. An educator for 15 years, Lindsay is celebrated for her commitment to cross-discipline learning and news literacy advocacy. Since discovering NLP resources in 2021, she has integrated tools like Checkology® and The Sift® into her curriculum, empowering students to discern fact from fiction—calling her efforts “a labor of love.”
Lindsay’s colleague, Learning Specialist Dorothy Killmeyer, nominated her for the award, highlighting Lindsay’s efforts to foster research and information literacy among middle schoolers and her collaboration with teachers across various subjects. “Lindsay collaborates with teachers from grades 6-12 in multiple subject areas,” says Killmeyer. “She works diligently with them to ensure that they can locate, evaluate and create information ethically and accurately.”
Lindsay emphasizes the importance of news literacy in preparing students for their roles as informed citizens and voters. She collaborates with educators to incorporate these concepts into diverse subjects, including a recent project with a science teacher on climate change research. Lindsay also stresses the critical thinking skills necessary to navigate misinformation and believes that media literacy education should be a national priority and is concerned about the potential decline in communication without widespread media literacy education. “I think that as a society we really need to think about what media literacy education looks like,” she says. “I would love to see that implemented in every state.”
“As a librarian, I teach information literacy, which encompasses all types of sources, ranging from news, magazines, reference, websites, books, social media, academic journals, primary sources and secondary sources—the list goes on,” says Lindsay. “The News Literacy Project’s resources have been such an asset to my curriculum.”
“As I have had time to reflect on this award and the importance of this work, I have thought about news literacy in particular—what makes news literacy important is that we are all news consumers in one way or another,” she continues. “Some of us may never pick up a reference book after graduating high school, but we all interact with the news, whether it be through our televisions, radios, phones, search results, social media feeds, influencers or casually discussed between friends and family.”
Alan C. Miller, who founded NLP in 2008, created the organization to equip educators with tools to teach students how to separate fact from fiction. Miller, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has been recognized for his contributions to journalism and education. The Educator of the Year Award—named in his honor—acknowledges exceptional educators like Lindsay who champion news literacy and its vital role in society.
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