Student Podcast Challenge is back!

Our annual contest opens in January for grades 5-12. [View this email online]( [NPR Education]( December 18, 2022 This week, we are excited to announce our 2023 Podcast Challenge! Plus, a bilingual ASL program in L.A. faces hurdles, 9 million student borrowers are left in limbo, and the journey of a Sandy Hook mom. --------------------------------------------------------------- Support This Newsletter You keep the facts flowing. You bring more stories to more ears. You make a real difference with a year-end contribution to independent, trustworthy media. To support this work, please [make a donation to your local NPR station](. Independent, public service journalism is [made possible by your financial support](. Thank you for your support. — [Nicole Cohen]( Editor, NPR Ed --------------------------------------------------------------- Teachers, parents, students – the Student Podcast Challenge for middle and high schoolers opens next month!! College podcasters, stay tuned for dates in the fall. For everybody: Now’s a great time to sign up for our [contest-specific newsletter](. Hey there, I’m Janet Woojeong Lee, a new producer on NPR’s Education Team, and your point of contact for this year’s Student Podcast Challenge. I most recently worked on the NPR show “[It’s Been a Minute]( where, among other pop culture topics, I produced [this delightful chat with the writers of “Abbott Elementary”]( Before NPR, I worked as an [art museum educator](. So very excited to meet you all! LA Johnson/NPR But back to the challenge – this year's middle and high school contest will open for entries on Jan. 6, 2023 and close on April 28, 2023. As in past years, our judges will choose winners in two categories: grades five through eight and grades nine through 12. Entries must be submitted by a teacher or a student leader who’s 18 years or older. The basic guidelines: 🎧 Students can create a podcast about any topic they wish to explore. To give you an idea, we’ve listened to stories on everything from [social media]( to [tattoos]( to even [tater tots](. Some recurring themes include [questions on race and identity]( and how young people [do, or don’t, fit in](. Your podcast should be about a topic you’re truly interested in. 📐 You can make your podcast in any format that works well for your story. Different formats to consider include interview, conversation, narrative storytelling or even investigative reporting. ⏱️ One very important rule to keep in mind: The maximum length of your podcast is eight minutes, and longer entries will be disqualified. After years of listening to student podcasts, we’ve learned that shorter is better. 🤝 You can make the podcast by yourself, with friends, or with your whole class. To help you get started, we put together a slew of podcasting resources on [how to tell a good story]( [how to warm up your voice]( and [how to use music in your podcast]( among other topics. Even – and we’re serious about this – [how building a pillow fort]( can make you sound better! You can find more tips and tricks on [The Students' Podcast]( our podcast about how to make a podcast. Can’t wait to hear your entries! — [Janet Woojeong Lee]( Assistant Producer, NPR Ed [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- Now, let’s get into some news … Limbo for 9 million student loan borrowers. Last month, millions of borrowers got an email from the government saying their application for up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness had been approved. This week, some 9 million borrowers got a new note, saying the earlier approval email had been sent in error. [Read more here](. — [Sequoia Carrillo]( Reporter, NPR Ed Bilingual ASL program in LA sees a rocky rollout. A new policy makes teaching ASL along with spoken English the default for very young deaf and hard of hearing students in Los Angeles. But disagreements about who should make that decision about a child’s education are challenging the bilingual program. [Read more here](. — [Ashley Ahn]( NPR Intern 10 years after Sandy Hook. A decade after the school shooting that took the lives of 20 first graders and six adults, families of those who were lost try to find bits of joy amid the pain. [Read more here](. — [Tovia Smith]( NPR National Correspondent And before you go, something to make you smile… We enjoyed reading [this thread]( about teachers who had an impact on their students years later. It reminds me of my own experience: My fourth grade English teacher told us never to use exclamation marks because, she said, it was like “laughing at your own joke, when no one else is.” Her warning still haunts me as a writer to this day(!!). — Anil Oza, Intern, NPR Ed It all comes down to you Your financial support is the NPR Network's greatest strength. You keep the facts flowing. You bring more stories to more ears. You make a real difference when you contribute to independent, trustworthy media. [Please donate today](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Listen Live]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [npred@npr.org](mailto:npred@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! [They can sign up here.]( Looking for more great content? 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