Encinitas sixth grader becomes ‘Kid Reporter’

Sixth grader Quade Kelley from Encinitas was selected by the Scholastic Kids Press to serve on a team of “Kid Reporters” that will write stories for the Scholastic Kids Press website and print issues of Scholastic Classroom Magazines.

Quade Kelley

(Courtesy of Scholastic Kids Press

)

“I thought, you know what, that would be super cool to do because I want to get better at writing and get my ideas down on paper,” said Quade, 11, who is homeschooled and saw an application to be a kid reporter in one of his magazine issues.

Forty-five students ages 10 to 14 from 21 U.S. states and 10 countries around the world were selected for the Kids Press program for the 2020-21 year.

Quade said he plans on making pitches about two San Diego Padres-related ideas: Fernando Tatis and Wil Myers hitting multiple home runs in a postseason game, matching a feat once completed by New York Yankees legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig almost 90 years ago; and the Padres using nine pitchers in a complete-game shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals, the first time that many pitchers had been used in a shutout since at least 1901. Those accomplishments helped the Padres win a playoff series for the first time since 1998, when the team reached the World Series.

Additional ideas Quade said he’s interested in writing about include climate change and other issues that he thinks children his age should be more aware of.

“It’s important that other kids know what’s happening in the world because sometimes they can’t get to that information,” he said. “Looking at what I know now compared to a year ago, I know so much more than I did and it’s because I became open to information, not just here but all over the world.”

The work produced by the Kid Reporter program will be shared with more than 25 million students across the nation.

“I think it’s really cool that they’re going to read it, and it feels like it makes my ideas heard,” Quade said. “That’s really important to me.”

He added that the Kid Reporter program is an opportunity for him to confront his dysgraphia, a learning condition that makes writing more difficult.

Throughout the program’s 20-year history, kid reporters have interviewed prominent figures such as composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and former President Barack Obama, according to a news release. In the last program year, they covered climate change rallies and Black Lives Matter protests, among other influential events.

Quade said he might be interested in a career in journalism.

“It sounds super fun to meet all these amazing people who change the world,” he said.

But Quade also said he has several other interests, including history, science and jujitsu. He was recognized a few months ago as one of 10 winners in a history bee hosted by Penguin Young Readers that drew more than 25,000 students nationwide.

“It’s so hard for me to choose between all the great talents I have so I’m trying different things,” he added.