PBS NewsHour Holds Eighth Annual Teacher Professional Development

Washington, D.C. –  PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs is excited to announce the selection of educators from around the country who will be traveling to Washington, D.C. for our annual teacher workshop.

Educators will take part in this three-day professional development opportunity from July 23 to 26. These teachers will work alongside the Student Reporting Labs team and other public media professionals to learn best practices for implementing SRL’s original video journalism and media literacy curriculum during the 2019-2020 academic year.

This year’s workshop coincides with the program’s 10-year anniversary and will focus on creating strong teacher communities with local PBS stations throughout the country.  

Teachers will also help national program leaders design assignment prompts and instructional tools to engage middle and high school students in the news and add youth voices to reporting on critical issues facing our nation.

“Talented, creative teachers are our lifeblood,” says Leah Clapman, PBS NewsHour Managing Editor for Education. “From the very beginning, we’ve relied on the educators who are our eyes and ears in local communities to shape our strategies for engaging teenagers, school leaders, and families.”

The 2019 SRL Teacher Workshop participants:

  • Abrianna Nelson, Washington-Lee High School, Arlington, Virginia
  • Bailey Goldenbaum, Northside Charter High School, Brooklyn, New York
  • Benjamin Garcia, Southern Oregon Public Television
  • Brooks Morton, Bethel, Maine
  • Christopher Harper, Rising Starr Middle School, Fayetteville, Georgia
  • Clint Stephens, Southwest Educational Development Center, Utah
  • Darcy Bakkegard, Prairie Public Broadcasting Fargo, North Dakota
  • Ethan Calk, Communications Arts High School, San Antonio, Texas
  • Gavin Bernard, RE:IMAGINE/ATL
  • Isabel Espinoza, Pease Communications and Technology Academy, Midland, Texas
  • Ivan Olinghouse, Hedrick Middle School, Medford Oregon
  • Joe Wright, Southwest Educational Development Center, Utah
  • Joan Magee, University View Academy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Jody Sandru, Twin Bridges High School, Twin Bridges, Montana
  • Justin Deutsch, The LINC, Philadelphia, Pa.
  • Kent McCutcheon, Antioch High School, Antioch, California
  • Katie McClain, Northwest Career and Technical Academy, Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Kristyn Bomberg, WGVU Public Media, Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • Leigh Walters, Hall High School,  Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Mary Dunn, EC3/College and Career Center, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
  • Mekca Wallace-Spurgin, Centerville High School, Centerville, Iowa
  • Michelle Dyer, Surrattsville High School, Clinton, Maryland
  • Nancy Zubiri, Venice High School, Los Angeles, California
  • Nikki Vradenburg, Montana PBS, Bozeman, Montana
  • Sarah Oberholtzer, Free Spirit Media, Chicgao, IL
  • Shari Adwers, Loudoun Valley High School, Purcellville, Virginia
  • Tim Shelton, Saint Francis International, Silver Spring, Maryland
  • Vilma Zefran, TC Williams High School, Alexandria, Virginia
  • Zach Liniewski, WGVU Public Media, Grand Rapids, Michigan

About Student Reporting Labs

Student Reporting Labs (SRL) creates transformative educational experiences through video journalism that inspire youth to find their voice and engage with their communities. SRL lesson plans, assignment prompts and instruction tools facilitate project-based learning that builds critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills. Follow Student Reporting Labs on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Major support is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the MacArthur Foundation, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

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 corporate funding is provided by BNSF, 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 Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, The PEW Charitable Trusts, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Ford Foundation, Skoll Foundation, The Gordon and Betty Moore 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

Elis Estrada, Director, Student Reporting Labs: eestrada@newshour.org