Searchby Ellen Creane
Education is the thread that weaves through 65 years of owning and publishing The Standard Banner in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Dale Gentry, third-generation publisher and managing editor, chose Kid Scoop more than 20 years ago “because we were looking for kids to get more involved in our newspaper,” he said.
“We like the page for the way kids interact with all parts of the paper. And we like that Vicki Whiting [creator of Kid Scoop] has a teaching background. We have a great relationship with schools thanks to Kid Scoop,” he added.
The Standard Banner publishes a monthly special section devoted to each one of the 11 schools in the county on a rotating basis. The schools share in-depth reports on projects within the curriculum. One story told of how children acted as participants in a wax museum and dressed up as historical characters, true to their research.
“We’ve discovered quite a lot about our schools through while doing these sections,” Dale said.
Walmart is the biggest sponsor of the Kid Scoop page, with a full banner at the bottom of the page. Eight other sponsors, including a utility, the local university, and Bush Brothers—who make the famous Bush’s baked beans—also contract on a yearly basis. Kid Scoop appears in The Standard Banner year-round. Dale’s wife, Teresa, uses her business accounting degree to handle all the financials.
Teresa related that the Gentry family is populated with “many teachers,” including their daughter who is a reading specialist.
Dale’s grandfather was superintendent of schools in Putnam County, Tennessee, (Cookeville), as well as publisher of the newspaper at the same time.
“And Dale and I do the Kid Scoop riddles with our grandchild,” Teresa related.
The paper, which is published on Thursdays, delivers 1,500 of its 6,500 circulation to classrooms. The publishing couple has discovered that Kid Scoop engages adults as well. Teresa shared a story of a wife who called the office because her husband was complaining he couldn’t find Kid Scoop in the paper that day.
“He reads it every week!” the woman exclaimed. She was helped to find Kid Scoop because that day’s edition had required moving the feature to a page other than its regular spot.
Last year Kid Scoop created a special page featuring kilts and bagpipes, and the page included the logo of the “Jefferson County Scots-Irish Festival.” This is an annual event since the county was settled by immigrants from Scotland and Ireland.
Children at Jefferson Elementary School in Jefferson, TN use the Standard Banner’s Kid Scoop page in the classroom. They are in Sandy Muncy’s class. Pictured from left are Quinlyn, Ryan, and Paisyn. Sandy has been using the newspaper in her classroom for several years.
Dale occasionally visits schools in-person. “The kids are very excited about my visits and they also come and visit the newspaper itself. Each week we receive many writing submissions from children and teachers—so many that it can be overwhelming at times! The teachers let us know how much they use Kid Scoop and appreciate it,” he said.
“Kid Scoop is part of the mix of our coverage of education which we believe is very important.”
