(02/23/2024) A student magazine at Anoka Middle School for the Arts (AMSA) titled, The Storm, has been selected to receive the rank of Superior in the 2023 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) program.

This year, schools in 46 states and five countries nominated 375 student magazines.  Magazines from middle school, high school, and higher education were welcomed for the 2023 contest.

The Storm is a journal composed of AMSA students’ original writing and artwork completed independently or as class assignments in any subject area. Students are encouraged to submit their work, and staff members are encouraged to nominate student work. The process begins in February with a collection of student submissions and ends with the unveiling of the journal and student readings during the Arts Fest in May.
 
The writing pieces are selected through a blind adjudication process, and art pieces are selected by the journal editors.
 
AMSA curriculum integration coordinator Jolanda Dranchak is the faculty editor and works with two student editors who assist in editing pieces, creating a flow of the journal, and identifying artwork to accompany written pieces. 

The Storm has been an annual AMSA student publication since the school began in 2010. Before 2010 there was A Swarm journal at Fred Moore School for Performing Arts.

The REALM program publicly recognizes excellent literary magazines produced by students with the support of their teachers. REALM is designed to encourage all schools to develop literary magazines that celebrate the art and craft of writing. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education.