Cedar Springs — A new podcast has launched at Cedar Springs Public Schools with the goal of answering district-related questions and clearing up misunderstandings that may exist in the community.
“Rumor Has It,” a brand-new, student-produced series featuring conversations with Superintendent Scott Smith, got off the ground with an intro episode in late April. It’s now gaining steam, with new episodes populating the district’s website and virtually all podcast platforms every two weeks or so. Video versions of the episodes are also available on the district’s YouTube page.
The podcast is recorded, edited, produced and sometimes hosted by juniors Caleb Koeppel and John Williamson, two students from Justin Harnden’s Media II class.
“Every two-ish weeks, we get (Smith) in the room, and we talk about something that’s going on in the school,” Caleb explained as he and John prepared to record the second episode, which focused on the century-old Hilltop school building, and why it’s being demolished rather than renovated.
Hilltop has been a source of some confusion in the community, and Smith welcomed the opportunity to clear things up on the air.
“The Hilltop building was in really rough shape,” Smith told Harnden, who handled the hosting duties for the episode. “It was 100 years old. The construction methods that were used when it was originally built in the 1920s were appropriate for the 1920s, but they’re not appropriate for the 2020s.”
Renovating the building would have cost more than $20 million, whereas demolition will only cost the district about $800,000.
“While we wanted to preserve that space, we couldn’t do it in such a way that it was financially responsible to our community,” Smith explained. “There was a lot of emotion, but you can’t make decisions on emotion.”
He noted that once demolition is complete, the area will be a green space for the district — one that, at some point, might be able to accommodate a new, better school building.
Hilltop is just one of many topics the podcast aims to address. Smith and the production team plan to tackle questions about school lunches, district facilities, bond projects and more. Questions and topic suggestions can be submitted via email to podcast@csredhawks.org.
‘This was just an opportunity to help address some of the questions that were out there. When people have questions and they don’t have answers, they draw their own conclusions. And sometimes they’re not correct.’
— Superintendent Scott Smith
A Bit of Pressure, A Lot of Fun
Caleb and John said Smith pitched the podcast idea to Harnden, and because the two juniors didn’t have much on their plates at the time, they ended up being the default producers.
“We got kind of pushed into it, but it’s lots of fun,” John said with a smile.
Running “Rumor Has It” plays to the students’ strengths. They’re both interested in media, and eager to continue to develop their skills. Caleb said he’s enjoying working on the podcast so much that he thinks he may have a future in it.
“I’d like to turn this into a career — maybe news broadcasting or something,” he said. “I’d rather do this than anything else.”
Harnden said Caleb and John are gaining some “great real-world experience” that will benefit them in the long run.
“It’s different than turning in a project; it’s different than writing a paper,” Harnden said. “Your stuff is going out there for the world to listen to, and I think having the pressure to put out quality work that reflects what we do and what we want to be known for is incredibly important and valuable.”
Harnden said the podcast will benefit the public, too; that was Smith’s hope when he initially floated the idea.
“This was just an opportunity to help address some of the questions that were out there,” Smith said. “When people have questions and they don’t have answers, they draw their own conclusions. And sometimes they’re not correct. So it’s just one more avenue to get the message out there in response to the rumor mill.
“That’s why it’s called ‘Rumor Has It.’ The idea is to either dispel inaccurate rumors or to … promote some positive things that are happening here.”
The long-term future of the podcast will be determined by Smith’s schedule, but all parties seem open to keeping the program going next school year.
Even if the podcast is short-lived, Caleb and John will learn and grow as a result of it.
“Worse-case scenario, it gives these guys great experience and can help springboard them into maybe a career in production,” Smith said. “It’s just about working with kids, to be honest. And giving them opportunities to really thrive and go bonkers.”
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