Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools issued the following announcement on December 21.
To learn more about the radio class at Reynolds High, go to Radio 101.
To listen to The Dispatches from Within series, go to Dispatches.
For more pictures, go to Your Permanent Record.
WFDD 13By Kim Underwood
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
DECEMBER 21, 2021 – Via the airwaves, the students in the Radio 101 class at Reynolds High have been sharing their perspectives on such issues as eating disorders and teen depression with the local community.
Recently, their reach expanded to the world beyond.
At a show they did on Dec. 10 in partnership with radio station WFDD and a program established by a national public radio organization, questions from listeners came in from such places as Minnesota.
To back up for a moment:
Some years back, people with WFDD began offering an after-school radio club at Reynolds. In 2017, WFDD began offering a class during the regular school day. These days, Gabriel Maisonnave, the Education Program Manager for WFDD, is the teacher for the class.
Under his guidance, students have been creating radio programs for WFDD that offer their perspective on such topics as teen suicide, racial issues, substance abuse, eating disorders, transgender students in public schools, and the trauma school violence causes other students.
Team 18WFDD has been broadcasting the programs produced by the Reynolds students and posting them online so people can listen to them at any time.
Recently, Maisonnave and the Reynolds students were offered the opportunity to participate in a national program known as Call to Mind Live: Dispatches from Within — Youth Speak Out.
It is part of the Well Beings Tour organized American Public Media – a national public radio organization – to foster conversations about mental health.
Agreeing to participate in the new adventure meant that, on Dec. 10, everyone hopped on an activity bus at Reynolds and rode over to Brookstown Avenue to the Wake Forest University Documentary Film studio, which is on the top floor of the historic building that is also home to the Brookstown Inn.
There they met the team that would be producing the show. It was going to be more than a radio show. It could also be watched on Zoom.
Molly Davis, the assistant general manager at WFDD, said she was glad to be able to support both this national show and the local shows they had already been producing.
WFDD 31“It really does give young people a voice and gives them a vehicle for sharing their experiences,” Davis said.
The program would have two segments, with Maisonnave serving as moderator for both.
In the first segment, Reynolds students Sarah Bettis, Kaeleigh Brenner, and Sarah Rhoades Cox would share their perspectives along with Linda Nicolotti, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Pediatric Psychology Program at Brenner Children’s Hospital.
They would be talking about such topics as depression and eating disorders.
Because of the format, participants could not wear masks. The process of getting ready included attaching microphones and having people talk about what they had for breakfast so that the microphones could be set at the proper level.
With 19 students taking the class, not everyone would be able to participate in the show. The other students in the class gathered in a nearby room where they would be listening to and watching the show.
Watch 41As they got ready, Maisonnave said it felt a bit unsettling to add the visualize element to a show he was participating in.
Once the first segment began, one of the points the Reynolds students made is that social media can make eating orders worse.
“You start comparing yourself to that person,” Brenner said.
And you may tell yourself you are not as attractive as that person you see on social media.
Addressing that point, Nicolotti said, “Limiting your exposure to social media is really important. I think that it’s really healthy not to be on social media all the time.”
During the course of the segment, questions came in from Minnesota, Indiana and elsewhere.
At the end of the segment, everyone was able to relax a bit and share their thoughts about how it all went.
“I was nervous as first,” Cox said.
Second 43Once it began, she was able to relax a bit.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” she said.
“It was really fun,” Brenner said. “I was really excited to share this information.”
“I thought it was a really great opportunity,” Bettis said. “I am glad to be able to talk about it and make it less stigmatized.”
The second segment was about such topics as mental health and substance abuse. Along the way, they explored such issues as not communicating being a possible sign of underlying issues.
This panel included two Reynolds students – Chloe Patterson and Shaelyn Sebastian – and two adults – Dawn O’Malley, the Senior Director of Clinical Services for Crossnore Communities for Children, and Wanda Boone, the CEO and Founder of Together for Resilient Youth.
Afterward, both Patterson and Sebastian said they had enjoyed the experience.
“I feel great,” Patterson said.
Class 25Then it was back on the activity bus and back to Reynolds.
During one of their classes at Reynolds the following week, students talked not only about their recent adventure but also about the class in general.
Patterson said that she likes that the class prompts her to think about a subject. One show she created was about mixed-race students.
“When I am talking about it, it makes me think about it more,” she said.
She also appreciates the skills, such as sound editing, she is picking up along the way.
Sebastian said that all the technical skills they are learning is her favorite aspect of the class. She wants to pursue a career in journalism, so the class also helps her develop skills that will serve her well in that field.
Kewonn McCrimmon said likes the class.
“It’s a nice experience,” he said.
And planning on a career that might include making documentaries, he, too, appreciates the skills he is learning.
WFDD 26Abrea Lucky said she likes all the people in the class. She describes them as funny and outgoing. She can be quiet when she is around people she doesn’t know well, and the comfortable atmosphere created by the students in the class has allowed her to feel at ease.
“They make me want to be myself,” Lucky said.
And she appreciates Maisonnave as a teacher.
“He lets us say the truth,” Lucky said.
The class also enables students to connect with people in the community.
Wanting to bring more awareness to students dealing with homelessness, Brenner had interviewed Holly Motley, who is a social worker with the school system’s Project H.O.P.E. (Homeless Outreach Program in Education), and, at her computer in the classroom, Brenner was editing the interview.
“I knew there was homelessness,” she said, “but I didn’t know there was that much of it.”
“It makes me want to help out in my community more.”
The other members of the team creating the national program included:
Tom Dollenmayer, WFDD General Manager
George Newman, WFDD Engineer
John Jordan, founder of John Jordan Films
Gregg Jamback, owner of Swiftwater Media
Original source can be found here.
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