Spring Break
Students report on local school districts
Jenny McCoy
Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: Campus
A Miami University journalism capstone class will be hosting two multimedia forums about community identity and involvement from the perspective of both a rural and urban school system in early December.
"The Learning Curve: How Education and the Economy are Reshaping the Heartland" is a student-produced project that will feature print, radio and television stories in the Union County, Ind. and the Middletown, Ohio school districts.
These events are in partnership with the Miami-White Valley Public Media (MWVPM), a project that creates community-based journalism projects in multimedia platforms.
Joe Sampson, who teaches Journalism 421B, said his students decided to study two communities close to Oxford that were not receiving much media attention.
With the economy in a crunch, Sampson said the coverage-particularly its focus on the relationship between success in education and the economy-is more important than ever.
"When one does well, the other does well," Sampson said. "Neither can be strong when one is weak."
The Union County College Corner Joint School District is split across the border of Indiana and Ohio. Although the elementary school's half court line sits on state lines, the school district continues to act as a fluid, seamless rural community, according senior Kate Stark, a student in the class.
Additionally, Middletown-a former paper and steel mill community as well as home to one of Miami's branch campuses-has been seeking a new identity, economy and educational future.
Stark has been reporting on the Union County School district. Stark said it was easy to report on a rural community where the people were very open and welcoming. Her first story described an older resident of Union County that has lived in the community all of his life.
"He is an illustration of the community as a whole," Stark said. "Like others, he gives back to his hometown through the school district."
After taking on the project, Stark said she has learned that journalism is all about storytelling. She also learned that all communities have their problems.
"The Learning Curve: How Education and the Economy are Reshaping the Heartland" is a student-produced project that will feature print, radio and television stories in the Union County, Ind. and the Middletown, Ohio school districts.
These events are in partnership with the Miami-White Valley Public Media (MWVPM), a project that creates community-based journalism projects in multimedia platforms.
Joe Sampson, who teaches Journalism 421B, said his students decided to study two communities close to Oxford that were not receiving much media attention.
With the economy in a crunch, Sampson said the coverage-particularly its focus on the relationship between success in education and the economy-is more important than ever.
"When one does well, the other does well," Sampson said. "Neither can be strong when one is weak."
The Union County College Corner Joint School District is split across the border of Indiana and Ohio. Although the elementary school's half court line sits on state lines, the school district continues to act as a fluid, seamless rural community, according senior Kate Stark, a student in the class.
Additionally, Middletown-a former paper and steel mill community as well as home to one of Miami's branch campuses-has been seeking a new identity, economy and educational future.
Stark has been reporting on the Union County School district. Stark said it was easy to report on a rural community where the people were very open and welcoming. Her first story described an older resident of Union County that has lived in the community all of his life.
"He is an illustration of the community as a whole," Stark said. "Like others, he gives back to his hometown through the school district."
After taking on the project, Stark said she has learned that journalism is all about storytelling. She also learned that all communities have their problems.
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