Student Newspaper Revival Deepens Belmont-Edgehill Partnership

Relaunched Edgehill's Best newspaper empowers young journalists while strengthening connections between Belmont and its neighboring community

The student-run newspaper, Edgehill’s Best, is making a comeback at Rose Park Magnet Middle School after an extended pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The paper’s 2025 revival brings back much of its original student-focused content while introducing exciting new developments, including expanded community involvement and new opportunities for Rose Park students to collaborate directly with Belmont faculty and students.  

“For years, this paper has served as a reminder to the students of Rose Park that they can do anything they set their minds to,” said Darcie Finch, Edgehill’s Best director and assistant professor in the Belmont College of Education. “And now, we are expanding that message to more people than ever before. It’s hard work, but the impact has already been priceless.” 

Building Something Special  

Belmont’s involvement with Edgehill’s Best dates to 2009, when Rose Park principal Dr. Rise’ Pope and former Belmont media studies professor Dr. Linda Quigley formed a partnership in which Rose Park’s journalism club used the University’s computer labs to finalize articles for their annual paper. In its first several years, Edgehill’s Best covered everything from student service projects to schoolwide fashion trends. As the paper grew, so did the relationship between the University and Rose Park, with the two groups sharing many community events and campus visits over the years. 

Joyce Searcy, Belmont’s director of community relations, has long helped manage Belmont’s involvement with Edgehill’s Best and, alongside Finch, sees the publication as a vital connection between the University and its surrounding community. 

“What started in 2009 as an innovative idea from Dr. Pope, brought to life through the partnership with Dr. Quigley, evolved into a lasting collaboration that helps students discover their own voices while connecting them to the people, opportunities and resources of Edgehill,” Searcy said. “I am proud to have helped guide a project that not only introduces students to journalism, communications careers and higher education, but also strengthens community pride and engagement through stories that reflect the heart and spirit of the neighborhood.” 

Edgehill’s Best is Back 

In the year since restarting Edgehill’s Best, the connection between Rose Park and Belmont has only grown stronger as the paper has taken on a broader, more community-centered focus. Finch now uses the paper as a tool in her classroom, allowing students to work with Rose Park students to write articles about the Edgehill community to earn fieldwork credit. 

“There was an amazing turnout from both groups for this paper,” Finch said. “And we’re now even more determined to keep this momentum going. I have students come into my classroom who start writing an article with no expectations, but end up with a deep, deep love for the community surrounding Belmont. Some of them are learning this information for the very first time; it’s a very special process for them.” 

Rose Park students have also taken on new adventures as part of the deeper partnership. Beginning in 2025, Rose Park’s journalism club was invited to present new editions of Edgehill’s Best at the University’s annual SPARK Symposium. Belmont students involved with the paper introduced the projects and family, classmates, friends and teachers were able to ask Rose Park’s students about their articles and catch a glimpse of the overall writing process through an immersive, walk-through gallery.  

“We’re here to facilitate and guide everything, but these kids truly embody the heart of what Edgehill’s Best represents,” Finch said. “Ten years from now, it’s my hope that they’ll look back and realize they contributed to something truly meaningful. Their enthusiasm is what will continue to grow this paper year after year.” 

Finch has already begun preparations for the 2027 edition of Edgehill’s Best. To increase the paper’s scope, she plans to include articles from even more schools in the next printing, as well as coverage for community events on Belmont’s campus, such as Family Literacy Day. She is also exploring opportunities for Rose Park and Belmont students to participate in job shadowing experiences together 

During the planning process, Finch finds herself continuously drawn back to the idea that Rose Park and Belmont are creating something that the entire community can embrace.  

“This paper speaks to the very heart of what Belmont represents,” Finch said. “We live the dream together by pouring into our students so they can then go pour into their communities and each other. We’re building something that will, hopefully, outlast us, which is the whole point.” 

Edgehill’s Best is a free newspaper intended for residents of the Edgehill community, with over 5,000 copies in annual circulation. It is distributed to Metro Council members, on Belmont’s campus, in local churches, restaurants and community centers throughout the summer.