“History, Jazz and Me” is the title of the first radio series to be produced by KAS Prep and aired over the Internet on WHITradio.org. Under the leadership of Mr. Darell A. Richardson and Mr. Wilkis Figuereo, the show is entirely written and produced by the students of KAS Prep. The NEA Jazz in the Schools Curriculum is the inspiration. This project marks the fulfillment of intra school program cooperation and the successful integration of academic/ vocational, cross-content and school/ workplace readiness.
A three part objective was achieved. First, it is the result of a successful joint curriculum effort by Mr. Figuereo and Mr. Richardson, combining the students in their Audio Technology and US History 2 classes respectively. Second, it represents cooperative team teaching efforts between KAS Prep, High Tech and the Post Secondary School programs. Mr. Richardson would obtain permission to convert Mr. John Pluchino’s post secondary radio broadcasting class into a class that could be developed and utilized entirely for KAS Prep students during the hours it had not been used by the other programs. This helps to optimize the utilization of HCST district resources. Finally, the effort serves as a pilot program for the project-based school-within-a-school academy (KAS SWAS) that was envisioned, initiated and proposed by Mr. Figuereo and Mr. Richardson in their action research project of May 2006.The KAS SWAS concept was presented during the most recent Knowledge Sharing Day at the Hudson County Schools of Technology. “This year, our theories were put into practice with extraordinary results” they both agreed.
Despite tremendous time constraints and minimum resources, the students were able to produce, write and perform “History, Jazz and Me.” The innovative segment formats include “Time Warp” which includes interviews of people in history, “Jazz Figures” with interviews, portrayals of classic jazz artists, and several historical commentary segments entitled “Pro and Con,” “History- a Place in Time” and “Round Table Roundup.” The class also created several commercials promoting KAS Prep High school featuring the hit Hip Hop musical track “Dreams of Success with KAS Prep” written by seniors Rudy “Smooth Brown” Zapata and W. Xavier Espinosa, also known as “X.” It made its school debut in their Sonic Café radio broadcast of May 24th its worldwide web radio premiere on June 7th. Featured segments address issues ranging from the triumphs and tragedies of the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII, conflicts between farmers and the railroads during the Reform Era, and interviews with Miles Davis and Boss Tweed. A special guest from a previous show makes a surprise appearance during the Jazz figures segment.