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ROCK STAR SUPER SUBS TAKE OVER LA HIGH SCHOOL

Well known movie directors, musicians, composers, computer programmers, storytellers, dance choreographers, entertainers and journalists came to teach and perform for a day, ended up engaging the whole community.

Los Angeles , Tuesday March 11, 2008

On Tuesday, well known movie directors, musicians, composers, internet developers, storytellers, dance choreographers, entertainers and journalists took over the Animo Locke Tech Charter High School in Los Angeles California, one of the Green Dot Charter schools. For one day they took the places of the regular classroom teachers.

The program was the brainstorm of Bob Barboza, educator and producer of Kids Talk Radio, working with Lauren Elliott, creator of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Computer game series, and founder of the PNN.com social media network.

The school's regular principal, Dinah Consuegra and her staff, were to spend the day planning in one room of the school doing what is known as 'in service' training, while the "super subs," took over six classrooms giving the students a chance to explore the world of the arts, journalism, and technology.

Soon after the day began, however, the teachers all wanted to join in on the activities. By the end of the day, they had danced with the students, participated in song writing, and enjoyed interacting with each other and the students, in a whole new way.

At the end of the day, Barboza's Super Subs gathered on stage and, with the help of the students and teachers, performed a live music concert. The event was filmed by the students and will be published to the web on the PNN social network.

Comments Barboza:

This was our way of partnering with the local schools to link the arts to subjects being taught in the school, and to provide a creative solution to the perennial challenge of making time for teachers to work together.

" At least that's the way it started." said Bob. "By the end of the day, we had teachers dancing, kids doing interviews and creating songs, and administrators up on the stage playing with the band. "

"We need to support schools any way we can, ", says Lauren Elliott. "And, I take real pleasure in having PNN be the platform for sharing the stories that came out of the day", says Lauren Elliott. "With all the current dire economic news schools are facing, success stories like this need to be shared and built upon. "

Jaimie Martinez, from PNN, assembled a journalist team of three students who spent the day interviewing and photographing the performers. "I thought these kids were great journalists", says Jaimie. "Stacy, Jose, and DeAngelo were bright, attentive, and fun. They could become PNN reporters anytime."

Richard Luther, programmer, and Donna Hyatt, educator for PNN, worked with the students in the computer lab producing self-portraits and six word memoirs. " It was a great experience to get out of the office and work hands on with these kids'' says Richard. "I wish all of our politicians would take the time to spend a day in the classroom, and see the changes schools like this are trying to make."

Following are sketches of the visiting super subs:

Robert Wolin will be teaching guitar. Among his former students are the guitarists of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Guns and Roses. Robert is a graduate of UCLA with a degree in mathematics and will be integrating math into his guitar classes. He is currently playing in several bands, teaching guitar, math, and test preparation in the Los Angeles area.

Lauren Elliott is the founder and CEO of the Personal News Network. Considered one of the top educational software designers in the world, he is the creator of 26 award-winning software programs for the Broderbund Software Corporation. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a masters in Engineering and Architecture. On March 13 he will take over the school's Apple lab and teach students how to publish a website and post to a digital yearbook on PNN.

Bob Barboza is the founder and CEO of Kid's Talk Radio. Bob taught in the public schools for 30 years and is an educational consultant for the FileMaker Corporation. Bob is currently on tour presenting at local and national educational technology conferences. Bob created the Super Subs and has a MS. in special education.

David Storrs is an electrical engineer, music producer, Los Angeles commercial realtor, and guitarist. David produced the rap artist Ice-T and has published numerous musical compositions for television and the radio.

Ronnie Ciago is the recording drummer with Bill Ward from the group Black Sabbath. He has been a featured drummer on the Sam Ash Musical Tour and is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

Skip Spiro is a movie editor and trumpet player with his own group, Little Big Band. He graduated from UCLA as a film major and has worked for some of the major television studies in Hollywood.

Michael Morera is a jazz saxophonist and financial consultant who has designed a radio show to educate people about investing. Michael will be flying in from his new home in New Hampshire.

Michael McCarty is a professional storyteller who has travelled the world sharing his enthusiasm for the power of stories to connect. He will teach the students how to tell stories effectively.

Caren Singer, a Phi Betta Kappa, summa cum laud graduate from UCLA, is currently teaching language arts, writing, and test preparation in the Los Angeles area. She has worked as a production manager and assistant director for movie studios in Hollywood. She especially enjoyed working on Rock 'n' Roll High School.

SarahTuttle-Singer, a graduate of UC Berkeley, has been in the field of education for over ten years. She is currently a children's photographer in the Los Angeles area.

Boaz Hachlili, recently relocated from the San Francisco Bay area, is currently working as a freelance photographer and bass player in the Los Angles area.

Michael Vlatkovich is a professional composer and trombonist. He is featured in the March 2008 issue of Downbeat magazine. He will speak not only about the role of wind players in a band, but also about the art of improvisation.

Richard Rohner is a sales manager for the FileMaker Corporation. He worked for Apple Computer and is considered an expert in the field of computer technology. Richard will demonstrate the importance of relational databases.

Donna Hyatt is the director of education for the PNN Personal News Network. She is a credentialed teacher and will coordinate the language arts programs for the Kids Talk Radio Super Subs.

Ron Knight is a professional Las Vegas entertainer. He will teach a class on how to be a DJ, how to write a song, and how to sing with a band.

Del Leon is a professional dancer and choreographer trained at California State University, Long Beach. Del has worked with student dancers in the Paramount Unified School District after-school program.

Kimberley Sanders is a professional dancer and choreographer, specializing in hip-hop and street dance.

Richard Luther is the senior programmer for PNN.com, and is an expert on current web 2.0 technology.

Jaimie Martinez is the senior editorial journalist at PNN, and will take charge of a student team for the day.

Mary Pickford Foundation Technology Bus will be on site. It is equipped with additional instructors and recording equipment, which will be used to demonstrate how computers are used to make and edit video recordings.

About Kids Talk Radio

Kid's Talk Radio is a journalism program designed to motivate and help students do a better job of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and computing. It is a project based learning program working with general education students, gifted and talented students, English language learners, at risk, and special needs students. Kid's Talk Radio is designed for students in grades 3 through 8 and grades 9 thorough 12. Most programs recorded on Kids Talk Radio are available on the PNN network.

Contact Information:

Bob Barboza
Kid's Talk Radio/PNN News
1857 Josie Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90815
(562) 221-1780 Cell
E-Mail:Robert@pnn.com
http://KidsTalkRadio.PNN.com

About PNN.com

PNN.com is a family oriented new-media network founded in 2006 by Lauren Elliott, creator of the hit game series, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? PNN.com puts simple-to-use technology in the hands of people with stories to tell.

PNN.com's offices and recording studio are located in Rohnert Park, California.

Contact Information:

Lauren Elliott
Lauren@pnn.com
1300 Valley House Drive
Rohnert Park, Ca. 94928
Tel: 707 664 6211

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Check out Jaimie's Interview

Our own Jaimie travelled south to be with the super subs. She'll have interviews and video up as soon as she can go through all the shots!

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