Each year School Newspapers Online offers student newspaper programs with outstanding journalism the opportunity to apply to become a SNO Distinguished Site, according to a press release from SNO. This past month, the West Side Story web staff earned this status–becoming the second school in the nation to receive this honor. The first website is Wingspan in Frisco, Texas.

Before awarding the title of SNO Distinguished Site, West Side Story earned online digital badges in the areas of site excellence, story page design, writing, multimedia, coverage and audience engagement. Representing what SNO sees as the six components of a modern news website, these six individual badges make up the SNO Distinguished Sites program. Isabelle Robles ’17 is the website editor-in-chief. 

SNO started the Distinguished Sites program to eliminate the ambiguity and delineate standards of excellence for an online student news site, according to a press release. Last year, 27 schools earned all of the badges and the honor of becoming a SNO Distinguished Site.