The Young Journalist

The Young Journalist is an after school academic enrichment program for third, fourth and fifth grade students in Indian River and St. Lucie Counties, Florida is an introduction to plain old-fashioned journalism and the stories of those who have left a lasting mark on the profession. Our mission is to nurture intellectual curiosity & instill a lifelong love of reading and writing by mentoring these students in the creation of their very own published bylines. We believe all our students are intellectually bright & gifted and are entitled to opportunities to live up to their potential. The Young Journalists Program nurtures our students by growing writers. Through writing, we also grow readers as writing supports reading and reading supports further growth in writing. The Young Journalists Program was founded by T. T. Hardy Online News Corporation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Thomas Hardy developed the curricula and oversees the program as Program Manager. Thomas found that no school in the country, including online courses, offered this type of curricula to elementary students. When eighteen 4th & 5th graders quickly signed up for the Inaugural after-school Journalism Program in 2018, Thomas knew it spoke to the excitement the students have about writing. In 2019 the Program was executed so well the School District of Indian River County invited Thomas to expand the program to more elementary schools. In 2018 the Young Journalists Program was recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists. The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation and the Dean of Liberal Arts at Indian River State College recognized the Program in 2019.