On 67th street, in the Julia Roberts complex, RRZ class is held every Wednesday for an hour and forty-five minutes. It's our first year teaching at Vanguard school and so far the experience has been great. We have a close relationship with the administration. They have been very supportive of our program. Jaleel, Jose, Crystal, Irene, Luis, Neesha, Jeremy, Taquana and Joshua are our fabulous students. It's a very dynamic group, each one very special. Neesha and Luis are inspiring artist and are so comfortable talking on the mic. Joshua has all the computer skills and is good at editing. Jaleel is always quite but on point. Jeremy, on the other hand, is very energetic and always participates. Together this group vibrates. Our class discussions go on and beyond.

So, far we've covered media stereotypes, bias in the media, and interviewing skills. The students have learned how to use minidisk recorders and how to edit using adobe. We still need some work on multitrack editing and need to improve recording with better levels.

Opened in Fall 2005, The South Bronx Academy of Applied Media is a middle school where students or "scholars" have a chance to be creative in ways beyond art and music. Radio Rootz holds an after school class open to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who are interested in radio production and media. This is the only middle school Radio Rootz teaches in and these young scholars present great talent and potential.

Listen to pieces created by SBAAM students!

We are teaching for the first time at the Economics and Finance High School, near Wall Street. We have a very enthusiastic class of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. In our first semester, we focused on media literacy and news analysis, looking at stereotypes of youth in the media, writing op-eds, and producing vox pops and audio commentaries. The students also learned how to use the minidisc recorders, and how to conduct a good interview.

Now, in our second semester, the students are working on feature stories. Their topics cover a broad range, from sneakers to dreams to why love makes you crazy! Because we have limited equipment, conducting interviews can be challenging, but everyone sticks with it. They recorded some great sound effects stories, and some great vox pops. Stay tuned to

Radio Rootz broke ground this 2006 school year with a new program in the nation's capitol. Washington, D.C. resident and independent radio producer, Selina Musuta signed up with Radio Rootz to bring a comprehensive media literacy program to the district's students as our first DC coordinator. Twice a week, Selina meets with 5 to 7 middle and high school students at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy. Chavez has two campuses in the district. Selina visits the Parkside Campus of Cesar Chavez, which is located right off the orange line metro stop of Minnesota Avenue. As the school has gone through their own scheduling from a year long elective class to a semester long after-school program.

Our most consistent students have been the middle schoolers: John, Lindsey, and Ke'von. We've covered a number of media literacy subjects since February 2007: what is the media, commercial versus public radio, the role of the Federal Communication Commission, and advertising. Every session we listen to various radio pieces and discuss the content and form of the piece ranging from vox pops to commentaries. Most pieces that are heard by the students are also produced by youth. Half way into the 2007 semester, Cesar Chavez students produced a short segment on what they find offensive in the media. And last semester, students produced a Halloween piece on what they found scary for WBAI's morning show, Wakeup Call.

As the semester winds down, Cesar Chavez students are looking forward to field trips to community radio station, WPFW 89.3FM; commercial station, WKYS 99.5 FM; as well as a tour of FCC.

Listen to pieces created by Cesar Chavez students!

Cesar Chavez Capstone Program

Radio Rootz DC coordinator, Selina Musuta worked with Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy teachers to plan a two-week public policy capstone program for one class. Each year, Cesar Chavez scholars investigate a public policy issue through research, field trips, and meeting with experts in the field or participation in activities that promote possible solutions or public awareness.

In mid-May, students chose an issue they could create a project around. Students decided to learn about HIV/AIDS infection rates in the district. They also chose to learn more about radio. The teachers decided that the students
could use what they learned about HIV/AIDS to produce a public service announcement (PSA). Selina worked with teachers to develop the main objectives and create a tentative outline for the program. Our main teaching objectives around PSAs included what they are and how they get aired. This included lessons on the advertising industry both commercial and non-commercial. Students learned the techniques that advertisers use to sell products. Students also analyzed commercial and public service announcements’ messages.

To prepare the students for the ins and outs of the PSA industry, students went on three field trips: STD clinic, WPFW (non-commercial radio station), WHUR (commercial radio station). They also heard from a guest speaker of an advertising agency. Students were interviewed on both WPFW and WHUR concerning their research.

After gathering information and sources, students were divided into two groups to produce two PSAs. They learned how to use sound effects, how to develop a script, and how to make decisions around targeting your message. They presented what they learned to their 9th grade class.

Check out the PSAs!