Educators head to D.C. for PBS NewsHour teacher workshop

Washington, D.C. (July 14, 2016) – The PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs program (@reportinglabs) has announced the selection of 36 educators to participate in its annual teacher workshop held in the nation’s capital.

These teachers and program leaders will work alongside public media mentors to hone video production skills, storytelling techniques, journalism, social media and student engagement strategies. They will also help program leaders develop innovative curricula to engage young people in news and public affairs, and ensure that the youth voice is active in conversations about the critical issues facing the nation.

“Teachers spend their days in rooms full of students, but it can be incredibly isolating because they don’t get to meet like-minded educators and share their enthusiasm and ideas. That’s what makes this workshop so special,” said Leah Clapman, managing editor of education for the PBS NewsHour. “Every year SRL teachers come to Washington with their A game and help us make the program better and more relevant.”

The 2016 SRL Teacher Workshop participants (in alphabetical order):  

Renee Aalund, Turtle Mountain Community High School

Jean Bibel, Wauwatosa East High School

Kadesha Bonds, Woodrow Wilson High School

Nick Carrillo, Aragon High School

Kerri Cobb, Bozeman High School

Mike Conrad, Royal Oak High School

Elisa Cundiff, Las Cruces High School

Carol Dawkins, York Comprehensive High School

Syd DiChiara, Nex+Gen Academy

Joseph Donnelly, Jackson Creek Middle School

Mary Dunn, Pleasure Ridge Park High School

Stephen Erle, Burlingame High School

Patsy Fergusson, San Mateo High School

Allison Gamlen, Hillsdale High School

Gina Gray, Dalton Middle School

Joanna Greer, John F. Kennedy High School

Alan Humbert, West Roxbury Academy

William Isom, Smoky Mountain Youth Media

Susan Johnson, Richwood High School

Christopher Jones, Cape May County Technical High School

LeVar Jones, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington

Bernadine Judson, Etiwanda High School

Michael Howard Kaufman, Frederick V. Pankow Center

Jennifer Keintz, Sentinel High School

Tim Knipe, Social Justice Humanitas Academy

Neena Kumar, Legacy Charter Early College High School

Chris Lazarski, Wauwatosa West High School

James McDaniel, Centennial Academy STEAM Charter School

Karin McKemey, Fort Mill High School

Jane McCabe, San Mateo High School

Holly Ortega, Lewis and Clark Middle School

Don Pearce, Denver Public Schools

Melissa Sherman, Hughes STEM High School

Dawnna Talley, UTPB STEM Academy

Julie Tiedens, Black River Falls High School

Rafael Vela, Eastside Memorial High School

To learn more about the participants, please visit the official SRL 2016 Teacher Workshop Tumblr.

About Student Reporting Labs

Student Reporting Labs provides middle and high schools with a unique video journalism curriculum, teacher professional development, mentorship and relationships with local public media stations to produce original stories that explore how critical national issues impact youth and communities around the country. Visit PBS NewsHour’s Student Reporting Labs on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.                     

About PBS NewsHour                                                                                  

PBS NewsHour is seen by over four million weekly viewers and is also available online, via public radio in select markets, and via podcast. PBS NewsHour is a production of NewsHour Productions LLC, a wholly-owned nonprofit subsidiary of WETA Washington, D.C., in association with WNET in New York. Major funding for PBS NewsHour is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS and public television viewers. Major corporate funding is provided by BNSF and Lincoln Financial Group, with additional support from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the J. Paul Getty Trust, the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Lemelson Foundation, National Science Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Ford Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Friends of the NewsHour and others. More information on PBS NewsHour is available at pbs.org/newshour. On social media, visit NewsHour on Facebook or follow @NewsHour on Twitter.

Media Contact

Thaisi Da Silva, Director, Student Reporting Labs: tdasilva@newshour.org