wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |‘Kool Kidz' hit the airways with student produced radio show

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Inside a Red Bank Elementary School classroom, you'll find eight students who are working on a radio program that is anything but elementary.

"Their creativity just gets better and better week after week because of the opportunity they have to think through it," said teacher John Paul Sellars of his students.

Now in its second year, Red Bank's "Kool Kidz and a Radio" program provides selected fifth graders the chance to jump head first into the field of broadcasting.

Mr. Sellars is the faculty advisor to the fifth graders and starts by asking the students each Monday, "What are you guys working on this week?"

Their answers this time around include the scoop on new playground equipment, tips for pushing through your New Year's resolution, and a question and answer segment on news reporting with yours truly. 

"We like to express ourselves and ask everything that people wouldn't expect us to do," said fifth grader Chiana Leaphart. "We go above our level."

Students say asking thought-provoking questions ranks just behind reporting the facts-first and accurately.

"If everyone on the radio show can know that and understand that and comprehend it then that means we're going to have a straight radio show that will go smoothly and it won't have bumps in the road," said fifth grader Taylor Ditch.

The students take full advantage of the latest technology to help produce their show. They use iPads to prepare their program and record the Kool Kidz and a Radio program entirely on iPod touches using an application called italk.

"We want to make sure these kids are being exposed to these types of equipment," said Mr. Sellars "That they have a chance to use the same type of equipment that I notice you use on WIS to broadcast your news."

Kool Kidz and a radio can be dialed in near the school on 90.7 FM, but the show is reaching the world online through their website and on iTunes.

"We don't really limit what they can do," said Sellars. "If they want to do it, we'll find a way to make it happen."

The students who are a part of the Kool Kidz and a Radio show are selected through an interview process in the fourth grade and participate in the program during the fifth grade.

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