Laws Ethics and News Literacy
In order to report legally and with ethics, it is imperative to understand to refer to the Bark handbook when reporting.
To participate in the Bark, each student journalist must score 80 percent or higher on an exam based on the Bark Handbook.
Bark Handbook
District in divide
An editorial example of laws, ethics and news literacy in the Tamalpais Union High School District.
The emails
After filing a public records request, I received vulgar emails between a Tamalpais Union High School District board trustee and a parent that included vulgar language, a concerning tone and a need for context. As a reporter, it was important to understand two legal issues when writing about the exchange: libel and obscenity. After three interviews with board trustee Kevin Saavedra and ongoing interviews with parent Ina Gotlieb, I understood both perspectives and wrote the section of the feature with reduced bias and information from both sides. Furthermore, to ensure the article would not be taken down by the district, I included copies of the emails with vulgar language redacted. The email section of District in Divide was the most complex section to write. With help from peers Benjamin Mueller, Morgan Sicklick and adviser Lindsey Kornfeld, I mitigated bias, avoided libel and removed obscenity from the emails.
All emails in relation to the Gotlieb-Saavedra thread
(Source: Public Record from Tamalpais Union High School District)
The interview process
To understand the full story behind nearly a year of events and turmoil, I spent hours combing through board meeting videos and interviewing sources. Most importantly, I sought perspectives from trustees. Kevin Saavedra was the only trustee willing to speak to The Bark. Multiple interviews detailing events at Tamalpais High School, Archie Williams High School, San Andreas High School and Tamiscal High School and, most importantly, Redwood High School helped me understand the trustee perspective on community concerns throughout the district. The interview process demonstrated news literacy and ethics by helping me understand the situation from multiple perspectives and report without bias.
Conversations recorded with Otter.ai
The Editing
Peer collaboration was key in the editing process of the feature story. I received help with editing and publishing from adviser Lindsey Kornfeld; editors in chief Morgan Sicklick, Paige Edelen and Cora Champommier; and feature editors Bea Nass and Penelope Trott. The writing process spanned three months, with editing taking one to two weeks to complete. Without the help of the feature editors with publishing and the editors in chief and adviser with editing, I would not have been able to write the story successfully with minimal bias.
Editing history of the article
Why it matters
Concerns over the Tamalpais Union High School District Board of Trustees have been voiced regularly in 2026 and in past years. The article has been read more than 2,000 times online since publication and was the center-spread story for the March cycle. The investigation brought districtwide coverage to events that had previously only concerned smaller communities within individual schools. The article sparked conversation throughout the district community. In a slight paraphrase, Redwood High School Principal Dr. Barnaby Payne noted the severity of the emails in terms of professionalism, with him and other community members noting that if the exchange had occurred between a parent and teacher, the consequences would have been more severe. Students, parents, teachers and community members became more informed about district events happening behind the scenes, and trustees were able to explain their sides of the story, including the contract for the hub being purchased without board approval. The article was noted in multiple online blog posts, most notably in a Nextdoor post about the TEAM program and on the TEAM program’s website. District in Divide: A compiled report of the Tamalpais Union High School District Board of Trustees successfully reported on important, newsworthy events and improved news literacy among students, faculty and parents in the Tamalpais Union High School District community.