(Photo courtesy of FORJournalism)
FJA Program Update:
Central Oregon Community College Partnership
We’re excited to share an important next step in FORJ’s Future Journalists of America (FJA) program!
Beginning Winter Term 2026, FJA students will have the opportunity to earn college credit through Central Oregon Community College (COCC) as part of a new instructional partnership between FJA and COCC. Under a Contracted Education Services Agreement with COCC, students will enroll in Publications Lab II (J215B), taught by journalist and instructor Lily Raff McCaulou, with FORJ covering tuition and instructional costs for FJA participating high school students.
A Memorandum of Understanding formalizes the shared commitment between FORJ and COCC. COCC will provide classroom instruction, mentorship, and credit. Besides covering the cost of the COCC tuition and instruction, FORJ will continue to recruit students, fund the paid internships of FJA students, and publish student journalism.
Lily Raff and Jody Lawrence-Turner, FORJ Homelessness lab editor/project manager, will be co-teaching the FJA students through the term, giving students an opportunity to be in both classroom and newsroom environments.
“This collaboration with COCC strengthens FORJ’s goal of building a sustainable, locally rooted talent pipeline for Oregon’s rural, small-town and emerging newsrooms.” ~Heidi Wright, FORJ Board President
