We’re thrilled to premiere the 5th video in our Public Schools Unite Us series from Emmy-award-winning journalist Steve Betchkal and Micah Davis of Soul Shine Creative Studios. Reuniting public school alumni with the educators who influenced them, they profile a diverse range of individuals to explore the ways that public schools build and support strong communities. The latest installment features public school champion Luke Zahm – owner of the Driftless Cafe in Viroqua, host of Wisconsin Foodie, & celebrity Wisconsin chef featured on Top Chef: Wisconsin –  and his 6th grade teacher, Jenny Carr. Jenny Carr is a lifelong educator, first as a public school teacher and then a public librarian. She is a strong believer in making information free and accessible to everyone.

The first four videos in Public Schools Unite Us series featured:

• South Milwaukee alum Xavier Mercado and educator Joanna Rizzotto
• Eau Claire business leader Zach Halmstad (North High Class of 1996) & band director teacher Howard Lehman. This episode received  a regional Emmy nomination!
• Eau Claire community leader Pa Thao (North High Class of 2003) and school counselor Blia Schwahn
• Eau Claire community leader Charles Vue (Memorial High School Class of 1984) and ELL educator Peggy Hagmann

Check out all five of the videos they have produced in this series on the Wisconsin Public Education Network YouTube channel!

Steve Betchkal is a proud environmentalist & ornithologist and an Eau Claire-based author. In his 30 years as a professional journalist, he produced 11,000 TV stories and is the only journalist in Chippewa Valley history to win five Emmys and an Edward R. Murrow Award. He is a member of the Upper Midwest Emmy Silver Circle (basically the Emmy Hall of Fame) for his decades of video excellence.  

Micah Davis enjoyed connecting with students while working as a SEA at Sherman Elementary before launching his video production business, Soul Shine Creative Studio (@soushinecs) in 2018.  He has enjoyed collaborating with Steve Betchkal on their “Story Time with Steve & Micah” (@storytimecv) series since 2019 and he was nominated for a regional Emmy for Excellence in Video Editing in 2020.

In 2016, local public school advocates commissioned Steve Betchkal to create a fantastic video documentary “Road to Referendum.”  It is an excellent resource on the broken and inequitable public school funding system in Wisconsin.