America's First Nationwide Student Newspaper
A national platform for the next gen of journalists
Launched in 2025, the SUNN Post is America’s first nationwide, nonprofit student newspaper. We commission and republish high school and collegiate reporting, features, and opinion writing on topics like politics and government, entertainment and culture, science, education, health and climate, looking at how these issues show up in young people’s daily lives. Our writing and original illustrations are by students, for students — and the teachers, parents, and mentors invested in their futures. A significant portion of what we publish comes from a growing network of 170 affiliated school papers across 35 states.
The SUNN Post is a publication of the Students United News Network (SUNN). SUNN publishes the nation’s best student journalism and civic media — through this national newspaper, through our first local affiliate, Nashville SUNN, and through SUNN contests. We’re starting with written journalism, but we’ll eventually empower students to do audio and video reporting, too.
We believe student journalism is a vital form of lived civics education that teaches students to inquire, research, fact-check and consider new perspectives, work that is especially important as youth trust in traditional media declines and student journalism programs collapse.
We professionalize student work and provide a platform for young people to be heard and to participate in the national conversation.
SUNN through the years
Kidizenship, the nonprofit that operates the SUNN Post, started in 2020 with creative contests aimed at getting young people more engaged with civics and fluent in how the U.S. government works. Students from coast to coast wrote their own presidential speeches, composed and sang their own national anthems, and painted, collaged, drew and sewed flags representing their vision for America.
Pretty quickly, it became clear that teaching journalism is a great way to teach media literacy and civic engagement. Teens learn how to ask big questions, tell fact from clickbait-y fiction and digest unfamiliar ideas — core ingredients for a healthy democracy. So we launched a civics magazine by and for young people, Watch Us Rise.
Over time, we realized there was an even bigger opportunity: to launch a first-of-its-kind national newspaper written by and for teens that could build youth trust in the media by inviting young people themselves to shape the future of news. That's why we launched the SUNN Post.
The Students United News Network
Much of what the SUNN Post publishes is drawn from an extraordinary talent network of more than 170 high school newsrooms around the U.S. Any high school newsroom can enroll in the network for free by completing a short form.
The SUNN Post staff regularly scans papers in the network to consider for republication. We also send regular email updates to share other writing and contributing opportunities.
SUNN is America’s national youth media syndicate, elevating the work of scholastic journalists across the country.
How we work
We scan papers in the SUNN network for potential republication. Student journalists in the SUNN network of schools can also pitch us their best already-published stories. We are interested in a wide range of stories that have a national frame and a direct tie to the daily lives of students and young people.
We also commission new work from our team of student reporters nationwide.
Whether a story is commissioned or republished, our editorial team edits every story and mentors the student writer, helping them polish, fact-check and professionalize their work for national publication.
Student journalists, illustrators, graphic designers and photographers are paid for their work.
WHO WE ARE
Amanda founded and directs the Students United News Network and Kidiezenship, which publish the SUNN Post and Nashville SUNN. She is a Writer in Residence at Vanderbilt University, where she teaches journalism; a longtime Bloomberg columnist; and an award-winning author and TED speaker. She’s appeared on NPR's “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” PBS with Christiane Amanpour and CNN with Fareed Zakaria. She’s based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Caroline leads the team at the SUNN Post, where she’s focused on championing and professionalizing student journalism. She previously was Chief of Staff at the nonprofit climate newsroom Grist, Deputy Director at Earth Alliance and a freelance climate-cuisine journalist with bylines in The Guardian, SAVEUR, one5c, Grist and elsewhere. She’s been interviewed on NPR and profiled in Audubon Magazine. A graduate of Vanderbilt University and Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Caroline is based in Brooklyn, New York. Her favorite food is a perfect yellow peach. Or Sour Patch Kids.
Evie leads engagement with the schools in the Students United News Network and manages SUNN’s communication channels. She is also the Managing Editor for the SUNN Post, co-directing our team of artistic contributors and polishing stories before they are published. A Fulbright Scholar, City Year Corps Member and graduate of Kenyon College, Evie has a background in teaching and copywriting. Now in Argentina with roots in Nashville, Tennessee, Evie’s favorite food is pepperoni pizza.
Dominique guides artistic contributors, creates artwork for the SUNN Post and works to maintain and build the overall aesthetic of the site. She graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2024 with a BA in Studio Art and is currently pursuing an MFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, she is based in Providence, Rhode Island. Her favorite food is margherita pizza.
Kate selects student work for syndication, connects with students to solicit commissions and helps guide pieces through the editorial process. She also writes stories for the SUNN Post. Currently a sophomore at Yale University studying English and creative writing, she is based in New Haven, Connecticut and originally from the D.C. area. Her favorite food is tahini cauliflower.
Founder and CEO, Possip
AP English Teacher and Advisor to The Black and White, Walt Whitman High School
Author and Writer-in-Residence, Vanderbilt University
Sr. Vice President, Product and Engineering, Hearst Newspapers
Deputy Editor, Futures Department, Washington Post
Investor; Dean's Advisory Council, College of Connected Computing, Vanderbilt University
Director, So+Co Community Initiatives
Co-Founder, Agog
Founder and Executive Director, Kidizenship and The SUNN
Founder, RadioLab
Director Emeritus
Deputy Managing Editor for Opinion, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Get involved
Join the SUNN network of schools
Faculty advisors to high school newsrooms, or students involved in those newsrooms, can sign their paper up for free.
Join SUNNPitch us an existing story
Students or faculty advisors whose paper has joined the SUNN network can pitch us already-published stories.
Submit a storyPitch us an original story idea
Any student, inside or outside the SUNN network, can pitch us an original story idea.
Pitch a storyJoin our talent pool of student graphic artists
Most SUNN Post stories run with an original graphic or illustration at the top of the piece, created by a student artist.
Become a SUNN artistSupport our work
Donations to Kidizenship, which publishes the SUNN Post, are tax-deductible.
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