In 2007, the department was awarded the "First Amendment Press Freedom Award" in Denver by the Journalism Education Association. Also in 2007, "The Raven's Beak" was nominated for the prestigious NSPA "Pacemaker" award, known as the nation's top prize in scholastic journalism, and was the first high-school newspaper in the Olathe School District to earn this honor. "Evermore" was also awarded a "Best in Show" at the 2007 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Philadelphia. In September 2008, it was announced that "The Raven's Beak" was nominated for a Pacemaker for a second straight year by the NSPA. On November 15 at the NSPA Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, The Raven's Beak won the Pacemaker, the first Olathe school to take home the honor.