When I was in high school, I was an editor of my school newspaper. I also wrote a regular opinion column.

My senior year, I wrote a column criticizing our school’s administration for either ignoring or covering up a serious incident involving some students and staff. It wasn’t sexual abuse, but underaged students drinking on an official trip. I criticized the adults who let it happen and should have prevented it.

The response at our school and in the town was outrage — not at the students or staff, but at me for writing about it! Many feared that it would damage the reputation of our school and reflect badly on our community.

I was summoned before the school board to answer questions. It was a big lesson for me in the power and responsibility of the press — and part of why I eventually became a professional journalist.

I thought of that long-ago experience when I read the latest stories in the Mercer Island High School newspaper, The Islander. Its front-page reporting and editorials about the recent sex-abuse scandal at MIHS are extremely well done.

After all, students are the ones most affected by the recent scandal and have the most at stake.

I called the Islander’s journalism and yearbook adviser, Greg Smiley, to ask if I could talk with the student journalists. I met last week with Greg and the paper’s two Editors-in-Chief, Julia Weisfield and Lexi Krawiec. They showed me an advance copy of the latest edition.

Their Page 1 story and lead editorial deal with the case of former English teacher Curtis Johnston, who along with former teacher and newspaper advisor Chris Twombley, was accused of sexual misconduct with students. This was first reported by the Mercer Island Reporter and InvestigateWest.

The Islander’s news story, “Admin Responds to 2nd Allegation,” is informative, objective and comprehensive. Lexi and Julia interviewed MIHS Principal Nick Wold and MISD Superintendent Fred Rundle, and quoted both.

The editorial on Page 2, “How Did We Get Here?” by “The Islander Staff,” takes the next step into strong opinion. They pulled no punches.

Their first paragraph states that “the MIHS Islander staff is disheartened at the apparent ignorance that existed while Johnston was employed at the school. The news that came to light on Oct. 23 is awful and concerning, and we recognize that this is a difficult situation for both district leaders and students of Mercer Island. To prevent it from recurring, we ask for more proactive measures.”

The editorial includes statements from two teachers, Kati McConn and Susan Rindlaub — among other teachers — who said that, to their knowledge, there were reports of other concerns, which mainly focused on “alleged unprofessional behavior in the classroom, hostility toward co-workers, non-educational curriculum and outdated comments.” Teacher Kelsey Cochran “mentioned that the volume of reports she was aware of should have warranted a more robust response, with which we agree.

“While none were related to sexual misconduct, we believe the administration should have followed up in a more visible manner. The lack of follow-through at this school is a practice that cannot continue in the future.”

They continued: “When asked for a response, Rundle did not have previous knowledge of these reports, saying that he only now heard of them. Wold acknowledged that concerns other than Johnston’s college counseling business had been brought up and he did try to take next steps with them, but he did not specify any number or type of report. As MIHS students, we find it challenging to trust the school’s enforcement of student-teacher boundaries after the disclosure of Johnston’s alleged actions….

“However, there needs to be clearer boundaries in the classroom to minimize the grey areas. This means that we must be proactively taught about grooming behavior and the appropriate boundaries of teacher-student relationships.” They note that Wold spent “an entire day in an office to allow students to share their opinions, stories and concerns.”

The editorial concluded: “This transparent approach is a first step toward rebuilding the trust and confidence between staff and students. We want to feel proud of our school and comfortable with our teachers in a professional and safe environment.

“As of now, this is not the case. That said, this stain on the school district does not define us; rather, it is a disturbing situation that we hope leads to an improvement in the quality of our communication and collaboration. We need more clarity, follow-through and proactive measures and boundaries in the classroom to rebuild the integrity of a school we should be proud of.”

I told them that this editorial admirably described the problem, interviewed key figures, and called for clear action. That’s really all editorials can — and should — do.

The editorial went public on Nov. 6 when copies of the paper were distributed at the school cafeteria and around town.

Lexi said: “I’ve heard from students that they thought it was great that the newspaper was calling out the administration and had criticism. A student told me that his table all agreed they felt empowered to do something about it as students.”

Earlier, Lexi said: “Student journalism is important because if we don’t tell these stories, somebody else will.”

Julia added: “Or no one will.”

Greg commented: “I’m consistently impressed by these students’ professionalism and incisiveness. They deliver on their responsibilities to their readers.”

Lexi: “It feels like it’s our responsibility at this point.”

Julia: “In our first editorial, we decided to make some very specific requests for change. … We thought we should be the first students the administration should talk to. We’re the ones who know what’s going on. We know the students who are affected.”

What’s next? On Monday, Nov. 10, school is closed for an all-day teachers and staff workshop on what happened and what’s next. It is not open to the public or journalists, but Julia and Lexi said they are still investigating and more stories are coming.

Lexi: “It’s not just teaching us journalism, but to think critically and care deeply about our community. … We have more incentive to dig deeply and are more likely to do that.”

Julia: “It’s not just about our concerns, but how it’s affecting the whole community. It really did have a big impact on our school. After our first editorial, we hoped that more local media would reach out to us. Our goal was that if we called out what was happening, other media would contact us.”

Other than InvestigateWest and the Mercer Island Reporter, none did. They should. This is a major story that deserves regional and even national coverage. When I first learned about it and suggested that the Reporter work together with InvestigateWest, I said this was a potential Pulitzer Prize winner for local investigative reporting.

Also, there are several state and national awards for excellence in student journalism. The Islander richly deserves them as well. Kudos!

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John Hamer is a former editorial writer/columnist for The Seattle Times and co-founder of the Washington News Council, with more than 50 years of experience in journalism at the national and local level. He has lived on Mercer Island for 25 years and has four school-age grandchildren. Contact: jhamer46@gmail.com