ACE Spectrum

Arf! Arf! April and National Poetry Month Begin, and So Does the ACE Poetry Contest

Posted by Martha Sessums on Apr 1, 2019 in ACE Learning Center, ACE Partners, Continuing Education | 0 comments

By Riley, ACE Poetry Contest Mascot, assisted by Martha Sessums, ACE President, because there’s no Dog-Approved keyboard

Hi again everyone. Arf! It’s April, and that means it’s National Poetry Month. I’m working the ACE Poetry Contest for the seventh year and I hear from my human friends that that’s an important year in what they call “dog years.” But I don’t get it. One dog year equals seven human years? Trying to keep up with my friend Lucy Rose, who moves really fast, makes it seem like it’s months not years. Whew. Lucy Rose, quit pulling my ears!

Once again, all the ACE Learning Center schools will participate. My favorite school is, of course, the Alpha Public Schools and their ACE Learning Center. But the other schools are great too. Oakland International High School (OIHS), San Francisco International High School (OIHS) and Oxford Day Academy (ODA) and their ACE Learning Center will join in the poetry jam.

You’ll soon meet the school mascots too. SFIHS’s mascot is Hei Hei, a Husky (of sorts) because they are The Huskys.  ODA’s mascot is Thor, who was last year’s mascot and is pretty cool. And OIHS’s mascot is again Samosa. Samosa is a cat, but she is the coolest poetry cat. She has already written a poem which you will see tomorrow. Look out Mascots – the poetry bar is set high by Marvel-ous Samosa. (Cats have lots of secrets ya know. Don’t mess with them.)

Let me get to the rules, which have changed this year.

–Poetry topic is open. Used to be “learning with technology,” but technology is so much a part of our lives now that the seven-year old topic is mundane. Not cool. From now on. the topic is up to each school and its ACE Poetry Contest rule makers.
–Each school and ACE Learning Center will manage and judge its own contests.
–Prizes have increased. First Place receives $100, Second Place receives $75 and Third Place receives $50.

As always, any type of poetry is eligible. You know my favorite is doggerel, but haiku, slam, limerick, free verse, limerick, qasīdah, epic – any form is acceptable.

Arf arf! I’m so excited. I love this month. Not just because I get lots of attention and treats (which is always great) but because poems are great and learning about and writing them is fun. Look for blogs and poems from all the Mascots. Poem in Your Pocket Day is April 18, and all the winning poems in the contest will be posted on the ACE Spectrum blog too.

And don’t forget social media to share – #ACEPoetryContest, #NPM19, plus post on your social media favorites. Maybe a cool YouTube of you and your friends reciting poetry?

Check us out all month, and remember, treat yourself to a poem.

First Stories by KALW Audio Academy ’19 Fellows Broadcast

Posted by Martha Sessums on Mar 1, 2019 in ACE Learning Center, ACE Partners, Continuing Education | 0 comments

By Ben Trefny, News Director, KALW

Last week, KALW‘s Crosscurrents showcased the work of every member of our current Audio Academy class — Pria Mahadevan, Lance Gardner, JoAnn DeLuna, Alyia-Renee Yates, Magnolia McKay, Kevin McLean, Porfirio Rangel, and Lisa Wang — plus our honorary member, Sara Nora Koust, an intern from Denmark who worked with us over the last six months.

The first storytelling assignment that each received was based on a question asked by somebody in the Bay Area. They’re part of our audience-generated project called Hey Area, which is source for many of the most intriguing, insightful, and entertaining stories we tell. And for this assignment, we asked each fellow to answer the question in the space of two minutes.

These are those stories. Enjoy!

• Is San Francisco Really Sinking?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Why are there so many eucalyptus trees in the Bay Area?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• How Did Folsom Street become the center of “sexy times”?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Who is the most influential Latino in the Bay Area?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Where are all of the Diego Rivera murals in San Francisco?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• When and why did the drum circles start at Lake Merritt?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Why are there so many sand dollars on Ocean Beach?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• What is the steepest street in San Francisco?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• What is San Francisco’s oldest running streetcar?

 

An Epic Journey from Comic Books to KALW Audio Academy

Posted by Martha Sessums on Feb 19, 2019 in ACE Learning Center, ACE School Report, Continuing Education | 0 comments

By Ben Trefny, News Director, KALW Listener Supported Public Radio and Porfirio Rangel, Audio Academy Fellow ‘19

One of the great pleasures I have in working with KALW‘s Audio Academy is getting to know people with all kinds of backgrounds and interests. And with today’s blog post, I have the pleasure of introducing you to one of our fellows: Porfirio Rangel. Here are some of his thoughts about his experience with us.

I first heard of the Audio Academy from a producer I worked with while interning at KGO Radio. Before I left, he asked what kind of career I wanted. I said I wanted to work in radio, to do news stories, tell people about events going on in their area, & do audio editing. He told me to look no further than KALW’s Audio Academy program. I checked it out and turns out he was right.

I applied for it in the early part of 2017 and didn’t get accepted. That was a huge blow for me. At the time, I was already thinking of moving from San Francisco, and not getting in gave me more of a reason to leave. I told myself I would take the rest of the year before I made up my mind. Nothing came up. But come 2018, Ben Trefny emailed me to reapply for the Audio Academy. At first I had my reservations, because I could not take rejection twice. But I had nothing to lose and decided to give it another go. I made a demo, and editing audio again brought back the feeling that I love doing it. That passion must’ve showed because this time I got accepted! It’s something I’ve had to learn working in radio: there’s going to be so much rejection, but it only takes that one “Yes” that turns it all around.

So, I’m in. What now? I went to the station on the first day of orientation with so much excitement about meeting the other members, the reporters, & seeing all that audio equipment again. As I got to know the other fellows, I became easily intimidated. I am the youngest of the group and probably the one with the least experience. You have someone who works with Google, another who has done projects for National Geographic, and a journalist who has been writing for years. Who am I? I’m the one who reads comics, attends drag shows, & scours social media to check out the next outfit Adam Lambert is wearing. How am I even on the same level as all the other fellows? Again, that self-doubt that came into play last year somehow entered my life once again. But I’m already in. This is different. I have to step it up and “sashay away” all that insecurity, because it’s not cute.

Being at KALW has been a rewarding experience. There are a lot of tasks that we have to get done in and out of the newsroom. But it’s so hard to complain about them if I love doing it. It’s fun looking for news stories to add to the morning news digest, writing up a newscast for stories that are trending that day, or finding people to interview for a story. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s something I can be happy that I’m getting done. Plus the feeling of completing the assignments is like how Spider-Man feels whenever he defeats the Green Goblin: tired & exhausted but satisfied.

Now, it’s been hard to find my voice and get a story done, but my talented-brilliant-incredible-amazing-show-stopping mentor, Eli Wirtschafter, has shown me the ways of the force. Every week, we fellows meet up with our mentors to ask for help, vent, seek advice, or get a shoulder to cry on. I know I can always rely on Eli for any help in & out of the station. He’s so willing to basically put his work on hold for a bit to check up on me and just be there. One of the first things he asked me when we first met was: What are my interests? I told him I’m a pop culture person. It took a while to figure out how I can use that to make a piece, but eventually he introduced me to this segment called Bay Area Beats. It’s a profile segment where we ask Bay Area artists about their work, influences, and connection to the Bay Area. Perfect!

Working on my first piece was nothing but unbelievable. I got to interview Kat Robichaud, a singer I had been a fan of for years, and it was like a dream come true. I was nervous because this was going to be my first time interviewing someone. I was fangirling on the inside, but, ultimately, I just wanted to make my first piece good. The interview went well. The next step was mixing. That was so much fun! It was long & tedious, but it was something I was very proud of. I brought it to my editor, Gabe Grabin, to listen to and make changes if necessary. To my surprise, he really liked it and thought it was mixed very well for a first draft. Hearing that, honestly, was the best feeling in the world. At that point, any self-doubt I had about my skills or whether I belonged in the Audio Academy was completely washed away. Now, I can happily say that it’s going to air, on the actual radio, very soon!

This is only the beginning. I’m in the process of getting another Bay Area Beats done and trying to get a news feature written up. Being on this journey in the Audio Academy can only be explained as blessed. I am grateful. Now, as a drag queen once said, “You better work.”