Owensboro Times in Schools: Providing Free Access to Local Journalism in the Classroom

By The Owensboro Times

In an effort to expand access to local news, spark civic engagement by students, and provide an extra tool in the classroom, Owensboro Times has launched Owensboro Times in Schools — making our website free to access on K-12 and postsecondary campuses across Owensboro-Daviess County. The initiative is sponsored by Owensboro Health and is a partnership with local schools.

Since our founding 5 years ago, OT has been committed to expanding access to local news. This marks the latest step in that effort.

OT and Owensboro Health both believe this partnership will benefit everyone in the school system, from students to administrators. 

“One of Owensboro Health’s strategic imperatives is to partner with our communities, which means we support programs that improve the health and quality of life of the people we serve,” said Owensboro Health Director of Marketing Brian Hamby. “Promoting education is one of the best ways we can do that. This is an exciting classroom initiative that will potentially engage thousands of students, and Owensboro Health is excited to be part of this effort.”

Schools can take full advantage by making owensborotimes.com a home page on every laptop provided to students, or they can leave it to the discretion of teachers on how to implement Owensboro Times in Schools in the classroom.

“We believe this program will be a powerful tool for teachers to engage students in civic dialogue and current events and to help promote critical thinking about important issues,” Hamby said. “There are also many stories of courage and hope that can challenge the next generation of students to dream big about what they can achieve. The digital format is familiar to today’s students, making it easy for them to stay informed and engaged.”

OT in Schools brings real-world experiences into the classroom, offering a range of educational benefits:

• Promotes critical thinking
• Builds reading and writing skills
• Develops greater interest in community events and issues
• Reinforces modernized use of technology in curriculum
• Allows students/staff to understand how breaking news is handled in real-time

“We appreciate the opportunity to join with the Owensboro Times on this exciting education initiative. This is an investment that will pay important dividends for our schools and the students they serve,” Hamby said.

OT Managing Editor Ryan Richardson said, “The support from Owensboro Health was crucial in getting this initiative off the ground, but just as important is the eagerness by the schools across the community to join this partnership. We truly hope our publication can serve as an innovative and modern education tool in the classrooms and also be a catalyst for change in the community.”

OT takes student privacy very seriously, which is why when implementing this program we ensured that students’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII) would not be required for participation in this free initiative. Students can simply visit the OT site when connected to their school’s Wi-Fi with no login or sign up needed.

Participating school systems include: Daviess County Public Schools, Owensboro Public Schools, Owensboro Catholic Schools, Trinity High School/St. Mary of the Woods Elementary School, Heritage Christian School, Grace Christian Academy, Owensboro Community & Technical College, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Brescia University, and Western Kentucky University-Owensboro.

OCS Chief Education Officer Tracy S. Conkright said, “The Owensboro Catholic School System is excited and grateful to Owensboro Times for including our students and teachers in this collaboration endeavor. We hope this experience will broaden their worldly perspective and deepen their sense of community. This will be an additional resource for teachers to utilize articles to teach informational text and to keep students up to date on current events.”

HCS Administrator Tracy Ladd said, “People naturally love good stories, and the ones OT reports connect events with people we know. The stories exemplify good writing skills in a real-life platform. Therefore, students will be able not only to hear and read meaningful articles, they will also see how the writing process can translate into future professions. Owensboro is a better place because of Owensboro Times and the way it positively promotes our community.”

OCTC President Dr. Scott Williams said, “This is such an exciting collaboration and we are grateful to be a part of it. We would like to thank Owensboro Times and Owensboro Health for including college students as part of this initiative. Part of the college experience is becoming more aware of and involved in the world around you and encouraging students to be active members of the community. We did a media preferences survey last year, and it showed that most of our students do not watch or read the news so this will be a great introduction for them. Besides providing a bank of topics for discussion it can also provide ways to spark student interest in civic engagement.”

OPS Public Information Officer Jared Revlett said, “Owensboro Public Schools is passionate about encouraging our students and staff to stay up-to-date with current events and happenings not only in our community but around the world. We have a great relationship with all of our local media partners and this announcement creates another tool that will allow our school population to access information about our community and have an additional vantage point on issues that affect their daily lives. Access to more information and additional viewpoints allows for better dialogue and discussion about topics relevant to our school community and we are grateful for the opportunity to provide this service at no cost when on our campuses.”

Daviess County Public Schools Public Information Officer Maddie McClure said, “DCPS prides itself on having great relationships with all of our local media partners and through this announcement, our students and staff have another tool to engage in open communication and access information about our community through additional viewpoints and stay up-to-date with current events and happenings at all levels of interest. We are grateful for this opportunity to provide this service to our students and staff at no cost to those on our campuses. This will be a great resource for Daviess County Public Schools that enhances our mission of putting Kids First!”

Brescia University Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs Amanda Morris said, “This collaboration increases the opportunity for community awareness and engagement for our students, faculty, and staff. Utilizing the free access to this publication enhances our connection to the community that enables our students, faculty, and staff to engage in civic events, service opportunities, life enrichment activities, and more. This project also provides an opportunity to expand digital literacy and critical thinking. It’s exciting to be a part of this partnership.”