Jeanneen Musa, 16, WHYY’s chief operating officer Kyra McGrath and Saba Kalandadze, 16, discuss new media software.
William Hite, the superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, last week helped Swenson Arts and Technology High School dedicate its WHYY Flash Media Lab.
Hite joined WHYY officials and Swenson staff and students for the Oct. 28 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
WHYY Flash Media Labs are comprised of Macintosh computers, editing stations, cameras, microphones and tripods. WHYY provides instructors for after-school classes, and training for teachers. Funding the labs are the William Penn Foundation, the Hamilton Family Foundation, the Connelly Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Graduate initiative.
Hite, who also visited Swenson in September to kick off the school year, said the labs help students analyze, listen, investigate and research. He urged the young people to “take advantage of this opportunity.”
“That is a powerful skill to have,” he said.
Bill Marrazzo, the longtime president and CEO at WHYY, said the media company is happy to work on the lab project because it embraces Hite’s vision.
Kyra McGrath, WHYY’s chief operating officer, added that the company is always interested in educational programming and outreach.
Craig Santoro, WHYY’s director of media production, said the lab is working well at Swenson because of instructor Allison Serabo and the students.
“It’s a real pleasure to see the enthusiasm here,” he said.
Swenson, at 2750 Red Lion Road, was represented by principal Colette Langston.
There are six WHYY Flash Media Labs in Philadelphia schools. Father Judge is home to one of them. More information is available at whyy.org/education ••
William Hite, the superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, and Bill Marrazzo (right), the president and CEO of WHYY, introduce the new lab to students.
Stanley Abraham, 17, plays with new editing software at Swenson High School’s media lab. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTOS
