About

Rock Creek High School Journalism Mission Statement
Rock Creek High School Journalism is an independent, student-led open forum for expression and reporting. All content decisions are the responsibility of students, who strive to acknowledge biases and tell meaningful stories with empathy and integrity. We aim to inform and connect while adhering to AP style and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, ensuring neutrality and respect for the community. Our goal is to create timely, engaging content that represents diverse perspectives. We avoid libel, obscenities, and privacy invasions, and we commit to honest photo representation. Constantly evolving, we prioritize relevant reporting and provide staff with opportunities to enhance their journalism skills across various storytelling mediums. Our leadership fosters a cooperative and trusting environment with faculty, staff, and administration.

The Editorial Board
The Rock Creek high School editorial board governs our student publications. RCHS Editorial Board consists of a broad mix of members that have been selected by your adviser. These members are typically members of the editorial staff, such as: editor-in-chief, assistant editor, managing editor, design editor, photo editor, copy editor, news editor, yearbook editor, section editor(s), opinion editor, entertainment editor, sports editor, package editor, shorts manager, business manager, web editor, podcast editor, who all contribute in different ways to the success of our various publications. The board is made-up of these academic peers who uphold the credibility of your publication. It is an honor to be selected and serve on an editorial board, but it can also is a significant commitment. Members need to be invested and committed to the success of the RCHS Journalism program as well as our future development, and contributions to journalism.

Letter to the Editor
Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters become the property of Rock Creek Journalism and will not be returned to the author(s). Letters must be properly addressed and sent to the editor in chief or adviser via email or U.S. mail, or in Mrs. Schmidt’s mailbox or hand delivered to Room #117 in order to be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. All letters must be signed. Letter-writers will be contacted by a staff member to verify authenticity. Identities will be verified by the editor in chief prior to publication. The Editorial Board (or just the EIC) may edit letters as they see fit but will preserve the meanings of the original letters. Quote checks will be conducted if a letter is edited. Letters to the editor will be printed in the opinion section. The Editorial Board will decide which letters they wish to publish. They reserve the right to refuse publication of any submissions. Letters to the Editor should be encouraged and welcomed by the staff. No material will be printed where content is obscene, invasive of others’ privacy, encouraging physical disruption of school activities and/or implies libel. The editorial board reserves the right to have letters edited for length, grammar, punctuation, clarity, etc. The school publications will only publish one letter per author per issue.

Staff Ethics Statement
We will not publish content that is libelous, obscene, advocates illegal activities, or may cause severe disruption to the school. Reporters will be responsible original content in a variety of mediums and will respect copyright laws. If students are unsure about what is appropriate behavior, they will refer to the Society of Professional Journalism’s Code of Ethics. Any staff member who is found to have plagiarized material or sought to deceive the publication and/or its audience may be dismissed from the staff and referred to administration.

Obituary Policy
In the case of death or deaths of a current student or staff member, The Hoof Print will treat the subject matter in a tasteful manner in the news section. Name, date of birth, activities and any other pertinent information will be provided. Details on the manner of death will be communicated at the discretion of the editorial board. Information for readers to get in touch with grief counseling will also be provided.

Takedown Policy
The Editorial Board will meet to make final decisions on takedown requests. The adviser should be included in order to guide the EB but not to make any final decisions. Anything published by Rock Creek Journalism becomes part of the historical record; Rock Creek Journalism will only alter published material under very serious circumstances. When discussing a takedown request, the EB should consider the following guidelines:

1. Does the article contain libel, inaccurate information, unwarranted invasion of privacy, obscenity or copyright infringement?

2. Does the article harm the requester, or any other person, so significantly that it outweighs all other factors? The Editorial Board will weigh the harm it may cause against the value of an unaltered historical record.

3. Is someone’s life in danger, or are we causing harm, did we publishing personal information that could be used improperly?

4. Was the information used to produce a story was illegally or improperly obtained?

Regardless of the outcome, the editor in chief and adviser will respond in writing to the requester explaining the board’s decision. If an editor or adviser discovers a writer has plagiarized or fictionalized a story. The editor or adviser will unpublish the offending story and note the action publicly. Sometimes all the writer’s work will be removed because the editor or adviser does not trust the authenticity. Rock Creek Journalism will work to avoid having to remove stories after they have been published. We will seek the better alternative of editing the story and adding a correction notice or write a follow up story.

Comment Policy
The Hoof Print monitors the comments written on its site and reserves the right to delete any comments found to be obscene, libelous, personal attacks, spam or in poor taste.

Social Media Policy
The Hoof Print news site has tie-ins with social media, including Facebook, Instagram, etc. in order to better serve Rock Creek High School. We strive to ensure all information conveyed is accurate. Mistakes and inaccuracies published in any medium will be corrected as soon as possible. Staff will not use Rock Creek Journalism media platforms for their own use. Staff will not use social media for the news site during instructional time without the expressed consent of an adult in charge. Students must also include their byline when they post on the news site platforms.