In 1923 Rowena Harvey, a teacher at South Side High School, Fort Wayne, Indiana, proposed a national association of high school journalism directors. The organization, the American Association of High School Teachers of Journalism met for the first time at the Central Interscholastic Press Association meeting. Harvey became the first president of the group that 40 years and three names later would be known as the Journalism Education Association.
Like its adviser, the program at South Side High School was a pioneer in scholastic journalism and was the cover story of the February 1924 issue of Scholastic Editor. In 1926 the paper won the All-American Cup for the second time in three years. Harvey, who admired the New York Times, named the South Side paper the Times and modeled her classroom after the New York Times complete with a circular copy desk as the focal point of the room.
