TEMPLE, Texas — Temple High School’s The Wildflower student literary and art magazine has been recognized as a Superior magazine by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) for the third consecutive year.
The 2025 edition of The Wildflower received its Superior rating as part of the NCTE’s Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) contest. The Wildflower magazine was restarted during the 2022-2023 school year and each of the three issues published since then has earned a Superior rating in the REALM contest. Schools in 44 states and five countries nominated a total of 456 student magazines this year, with magazines from middle school, high school, and higher education welcomed for the 2025 contest. The Wildflower was one of just 21 student magazines from the state of Texas to receive recognition in this year’s REALM contest overall with ten of those magazines receiving Superior designations. The 2025 issue of The Wildflower magazine includes original stories, poetry, artwork, and photography submitted by Temple High School students.
“I am really proud of the students for the way the way they go out and do the recruiting, and they really get out there and share their excitement,” said Laura Betik, faculty advisor for The Wildflower and an English teacher at Temple HS. “I am really happy that they are still excited to do this and really understand the vision. We have been able to make very systematic improvements each year. It is a wonderful experience to create something with other people and they are happy to share this with their family and their peers. It is part of the legacy they will leave, and I hope they are proud of that.”
Temple High School had originally produced a literary and art magazine called Wildflower from around 1970 until 2002 before bringing the magazine back in 2022-2023 due to student demand. The Wildflower magazine staff works with English and visual arts teachers at the high school on assignments to help generate submissions to the magazine and all students are able to submit written or visual pieces in a variety of genres. The group also holds several contests each year to help drive submissions, with the winners of those contests earning a spot in the final magazine.
The seniors on this year’s staff have been with the magazine since it restarted their freshman year. Those students have seen growth in terms of involvement with the magazine, number of submissions, and the quality of the product. Ava Jade Fritz is the editor-in-chief of the current edition of The Wildflower and has worked on each of the previous three issues. She is proud of the recognitions the magazine has received and is grateful to be a part of something that is making an impact on the Temple High School campus.
“It feels amazing. I have an incredible team and we have worked so hard in putting the magazine together,” Fritz, a senior at THS, and prose editor of the 2025 Wildflower said. “I have enjoyed watching myself and everyone involved with this club grow. The arts mean so much to me and being able to train people and inspire them to value the arts, to see the sparkle in their eye, and help it grow into something they can put on paper, is beautiful to me. I have learned the power that someone’s art can have by affecting people’s lives.”
Nevaeh Tobe is also in her fourth year of working on The Wildflower and has been the business manager for the magazine both last year and this year. She is also impressed with the way the project has grown and enjoys both the recognition, and the way her work will benefit her after graduation.
“It feels like the hard work we have put in since our freshman year has really paid off,” added Tobe, another senior. “A lot more people know about the magazine, and we get a lot of great submissions each year. Being able to work with the magazine in the business manager role has been great because it really looks good on my resume with real-world experience.”
In addition to the Superior designation from NCTE, the 2025 edition of The Wildflower also received a First-Class rating and three distinctions from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA). This is the second time The Wildflower has submitted to the NSPA. First-Class is that organization’s second-highest rating and is more of a critique and not a competition. The Wildflower was also recognized by the NSPA with marks of distinction for exemplary work in content (writing) - photography, art, and graphics - and design (layout).
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. Schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, US territories, Canada, and American schools abroad are eligible to nominate magazines.
For more information about the REALM Program, please visit: https://ncte.org/awards/program-to-recognize-in-student-literary-magazines/.