Students Finding Their Voice on Air

Students in El Centro, California wanted to make things, not just study them. Dr. Tacke had built music appreciation classes students liked, but "liked" wasn't "lit up." Traditional recording labs required expensive equipment. Neither the budget nor the equipment was an option.

The district's 1:1 Chromebook rollout changed the equation. Tacke was skeptical that a cloud-based tool could handle real audio production. The quality threshold for broadcast was not negotiable. If students were going to put work out into the world, it had to actually be good.

Tacke licensed Soundtrap for Education and put it on the Chromebooks students already carried. The skepticism dissolved fast. The quality of what students started making, almost immediately, was impressive.

He built a structure that combined research, writing, recording, and editing. The skills crossed into English, history, journalism, and athletics. Students learned to script, interview, layer audio, and produce finished work for real audiences.

When COVID hit, the program didn't stop. Soundtrap's cloud-based architecture meant students continued producing from home, collaborating without missing a beat.

"Valley VibeZ" started as a class project. Now it airs every Sunday on 98.3 FM Power98. Students produced a holiday rap that aired on stations in California and Memphis. KPBS commissioned 11 episodes of "Voices del Valle." The athletic podcast "Inside the Blue Zone" is live on YouTube and Spotify.

Students with attendance problems started showing up. One student abandoned other software entirely and began using Soundtrap for everything. The work was no longer confined to class. It was reaching real communities.

Dr. Tacke could have retired two years ago. He hasn't. The work means too much.