Radio Rookies led a three-week storytelling workshop at the DreamYard Art Center in the Bronx. 

Radio Rookies hosted a surprise "graduation" ceremony for 2014 high school graduate Danielle Motindabeka at WNYC. Current and past Radio Rookies from as far back as 2004 came to celebrate along with New York Public Radio staff. 

Radio Rookie Danielle Motindabeka reported this week that she was taking the US History Regents exam for the fourth and final time. It's the one thing standing in the way of her getting her high school diploma. Danielle went to find out her results.

Danielle Motindabeka has overcome incredible odds to succeed in the United States - she has learned English, made a home here and is trying very hard to graduate high school. And the last test she needs is one she's failed three times already.

If you’re a teenager interested in reporting your own stories or an educator looking for some tools for your students to learn about journalism, you’ve come to the right place!  We hope that you’ll be able to use these elements to create your own amazing stories and, when you do, please share them with us!  (radiorookies@wnyc.org) 

That most teenagers are walking around sleep deprived won't come as a shock to parents or teachers. Radio Rookie Temitayo Fagbenle got her friends to share why they aren't sleeping and what, exactly, they're doing during those late-night hours.

In New York City, prescription painkiller abuse rates aren't as high as the rest of the country — except on Staten Island, where their impact is wide and deep.

If you ever wondered how Radio Rookies stories are produced or want to teach young people the art of audio production, check out our DIY Radio Rookies Toolkit. The materials are embedded within the comic book below, "The Making of a Radio Rookies Story", which follows the dramatic tale of Keith Harris from day one of workshop to the morning his story airs.  Click on the small icons throughout the comic for work sheets, tips, links, and animated shorts.  If you or students you work with use the toolkit to create your own stories, please share them with us at radiorookies@wnyc.org.  

Under the Bloomberg administration, the number of "co-located schools"—multiple schools in a single building—has doubled in New York City. Radio Rookies Leslie Batista and Kiala Donald attend one of these schools, which shares building space with five others. Each school operates on a different floor and draws upon students from many different neighborhoods. Sometimes there's tension between students from different schools once the final bell rings. Microphones in hand, Leslie and Kiala took to the hallways to find out more.

(Editor’s note: School officials did not want the name of their school or campus included in this story, so it’s been removed from interviews.)

Radio Rookies Alejandro Estevez and Daniel Bostick—aka “Alex E. Styles” and “AR Danny”—have heard plenty about the psychedelic drug “Molly,” the street name for an allegedly pure form of MDMA or “ecstasy." As Molly has grown in popularity, so has its mention in contemporary hip-hop music. Both Alex and Danny have chosen to stay away from the drug, but as aspiring hip-hop artists, they feel pressured to follow their peers and rap about Molly. Alex and Danny consider the relationship between music and its influence on teens while marching to the beat of their own rhymes.

Imagine: a high school where students are on a first-name basis with their principal and teachers, have personal advocate counselors, and where a failing grade doesn’t mean trouble, but an offer of help. West Brooklyn Community High School is that kind of school. Opened in 2006, West Brooklyn is designed to give students a second-chance at earning lost credits and graduating. In this report, two students—Eddie Munoz and Jairo Gomez—tell the story of how they fell dangerously behind at their previous schools and got back on track at West Brooklyn.

Welcome to Street View: Where We Get it Straight From the People—Radio Rookies first-ever teen talk show! Under the helm of Radio Rookies host Sharnalee Reid, reporters Cam Johnson and Ahmed Khan collaborate in a group-report about bullying from a variety of perspectives.  Bringing the voices of family and friends into the studio, they ask some hard-hitting questions about bullying: “What’s the difference between bullying and drama?” “How do you stop a bully?” and, “Can bullies change?”  To find out, take a look at Street View!

Like many New Yorkers, Radio Rookies Shakoya Hamilton, Marvin Ramos, and Anna-Lisa Gordon have seen the advertisements for New York City’s teen pregnancy prevention campaign. Accompanying the face of a toddler, are big-lettered statements like, “Got a good job? I cost thousands of dollars each year” and “Honestly Mom, chances are he won’t stay with you. What happens to me?” Each of these Radio Rookies shares an experience with pregnancy and parenthood, but their stories were not reflected in the faces of the posters. This is the story about what it’s really like to face teen pregnancy, from teenagers themselves.

New Radio Rookies producer Emily Kwong had been waiting to meet the Radio Rookies at their Brooklyn workshop. But the first day she was supposed to go in, she was stuck at home outside of the city because of the early January snow storm.  So she made a fantastic video introducing herself to the Radio Rookies…

Check it out here!

Meet Cam Johnson, one of five students in Radio Rookies Short Wave multimedia workshop. Cam is a student at Facing History High School. For the past eight weeks, he's been hard at work producing a story about the personal cost of bullying.

Listen and watch the messages that teens from around NYC recorded for Mayor-elect de Blasio. After taking part in a live chat about relations between young people and the police, participants shared their viewpoints by creating messages for the incoming mayor.

At the 3rd Annual NYC Digital Waves Youth Media Festival: NewsHive @ St. Joseph's College youth came together to produce, report, and make their own stories in just 10 hours.