“The Beat” to “The Legacy” Welcoming a Community Newspaper Back to Beatrice

by Mashika Tempero-Culliver,

When I was a teenager at J. F. Shields High School, I had no real passion for writing or reading. Then, through the PACERS newspaper program, I was presented with an opportunity to discover a sense of agency and a new way of learning, both of which challenged my comfort zone and my prior passivity.

Before the program, I found writing and reading to be complicated and monotonous, disconnected from my math and science interests. But when I saw how my own voice could be used to make a difference in my community, I became motivated to read and write as much as I needed to, for the success of our paper, The Beatrice Beat

During my junior and senior years of high school, my classmates and I spent countless hours gathering stories and current events to keep our community abreast of what was going on in and around the area.

Our newspaper became the pride and joy of our school and our community. We would go from place to place to sell the paper, and there were even times when people would call to request copies.

I spoke with Kelby Williams, a fellow staff member from that era, to learn about her experiences working on The Beatrice Beat. In reflection, she said, “As a student at J. F. Shields, one of my foremost loves was a love of writing, but there was not an adequate outlet until PACERS brought forth its school newspaper program.

I was able to refine my writing and cultivate new talents, such as photo-editing and document formatting, which would serve me later in college.

“My creativity was fostered throughout the process, as we sought to engage our fellow students and increase our readership. The most important gift this program gave us, however, was the opportunity to see our names proudly displayed on a work that was all our own.” Kelby, as a former participant, credits PACERS and the newspaper with helping her find her voice.

Looking back on my own experiences, what I enjoyed most is how we were able to give something to our community, something that brought everyone of all ages and races together. It was such a powerful thing for me to experience as a teenager.

It helped me realize that my voice and community mattered. And I acknowledge that there is an ongoing need for this newspaper program. We can’t afford not to extend such a life-changing opportunity to our school and community.

I take pride in the fact that members of our community are working with PACERS to re-establish a local publication. The Beatrice Legacy is what’s needed now to reawaken agency and a sense of unity.

There are so many aspects of our community that remain unrecognized or undocumented. So, this is a way to extend interest in all the communities that make up the J. F. Shields family. I applaud all who are investing their time to implement this project.

As a Ph.D. student at Auburn University, my research is focused on fostering student agency in high-poverty schools. I can honestly say that my current mindset and overall success was greatly paved by my learning experiences with the PACERS newspaper program. If it did this for me as an uninterested reader and writer, I can only imagine what more it can do – for other students, and ultimately, for the betterment of our community.