Education reporter Anne Gelhaus won a 2004 John Swett Award for Media Excellence in the Continuous Schools Coverage category in the weekly/semi-weekly newspapers division. Gelhaus also covers education for the Resident's sister papers Willow Glen Resident and Rose Garden Resident.

Staff writer Anne Ward Ernst received a Certificate of Merit in the same category.

According to a John Swett Awards brochure from the teachers association, "These awards ... are CTA's highest honor for media professionals, herald outstanding coverage of issues that touched California's schools, community colleges and state universities.

"Thanks to CTA members interacting with the media, vital school issues make it from the classroom to the newsroom, allowing the public and its elected representatives to make informed decisions about quality education and its future. This link between teachers and the media is strengthened by the rule in this competition requiring local chapters of CTA to nominate works by media professionals for the contest."

Gelhaus' winning entry included a story about a Bret Harte Middle School class history project based on 100-year-old pharmacy documents from mining town Deadwood, S.D.; features about a mock election and the new principal at Branham High School; and stories about a dictionary giveaway, a writing club at Simonds Elementary School, and children and parents who walk to school.

Marlene Mattoon, president of the San Jose Teachers Association, nominated those entries for John Swett Awards.

The newspaper will receive a plaque for the award at a June 11 California Teachers Association luncheon in Los Angeles.

Some of the Resident's sister newspapers were also honored by the association: the Cupertino Courier won in the category of "contribution by a publication for continuous coverage" and received a Certificate of Merit for a feature story written by I-chun Che; former Willow Glen Resident reporter Amy Wicks won in the category of "contribution by an individual for a feature story," and the newspaper as a whole received a Certificate of Merit in the category of "contribution by a publication for editorials."