I would like to do a podcast looking at the school year aftermath of the August 2016 petitions on LaGuardia Highs School’s admissions policy. This past summer, over 10,000 people signed an online petition in protest of the school’s proposed change to their admissions policy to focus on prospective students’ academics more than their auditions. Since the school year for students begins in September and the changes are under review for those applying in October 2017, I think it would be a timely feature to see how those within LaGuardia have been affected by the discussion.

A New York audience would be interested in this story because of the school’s prominence in the city and its relevance to discussions of educational funding. Since LaGuardia High School is arguably the most renown arts school in New York City boasting a large number of famous alumni, many listeners might be invested in its affairs and supportive of the school’s well-being. On the other side, as a public school, this topic brings up the debate of state-funded arts education programs. While some people support the school’s mission to foster young artists, other feel that it encourages an impractical future and may think the new admissions policy is more reasonable.

I would start my reporting by looking at the different sources involved at the root of the issue. I would look at the online petition itself, its updates, and its comments to see what noise that has generated, then look at the specific statements proposed that it responded to. From there, I would see what other local sources (including LaGuardia student publications, should they have any articles regarding this matter) to see what other details I may find.

From there, I would like to speak with people involved with the school and this matter. Ideally, I would speak to different types of LaGuardia students in order to get a wider handle on the issue. I would like to find a Freshman who is new to the school to see if they can sense any of the potential lingering tension, as well as an upperclassman who feels that the current admissions policy benefited them in a way (i.e. a student who did poor academically in middle school, but is flourishing in high school). From then, I would also like to garner the opinions of an alumnus and a current or retired staff member. In terms of receiving a statement from a staff member, I feel like they may be hesitant to openly criticize their workplace in fear of receiving some sort of retribution. I would hope to encompass the different nuances and opinions on the matter.

The questions I would ask would bring to light their personal opinions on the matter, how they feel such a change in policy could affect the future of the school, and what they feel should be done moving forward.

I think that this piece would flourish as a podcast piece because it focuses on arts education. While a regular classroom evokes a familiar sound, the added noise of students singing and dancing in the hallways as they rotate between classes brings a sort of musicality to the podcast that may serve to place listeners at the heart of the scene they are trying to understand. Additionally, I think that the podcast would bring up a sense of intimacy to the interviews of students and faculty regarding something especially important to them.