Buckle Up!

NEA Today, Apr 2004 by Subramanyam, Urmila

Tune in to your local PBS station on any given day, and you might catch a glimpse of students from Jim Wojcicehowski's broadcasting class talking about the good news of seat belt safety.

The students from Corry Area High School in Pennsylvania snagged the national air time with a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) they created for an annual contest sponsored by an area insurance agency. As winners of the 2003 competition, the students got to star in a professionally produced version of their PSA, which aired on regional television in the fall. When the local PBS affiliate found out about the students' work on the production, it produced a 15-minute television segment about the students, which has since aired on PBS stations nationwide.

But Wojcicehowski's students haven't let fame go to their heads. They already are working on a new PSA about the dangers of drinking and driving for this year's contest.

"I wanted my students to gain a sense of pride in doing a major project like this, and to do it well," says Wojcicehowski, a social studies teacher. "They used all the skills and techniques of broadcasting that we have learned. I was very proud of my students when they won because I was proud of their finished product."

-Urmila Subramanyam