Over the summer, broadcast adviser Candace Bagwell arrived at this school, wearing a pink out shirt to teach a broadcast workshop. It wasn’t until after she got home later that day, that she looked down and realized her shirt read, “Fight Like A Knight.”

Ms. Bagwell doesn’t work on just one campus. She works as the broadcast adviser for Independence as well. She says that she sometimes finds herself wearing two hats at one time, or in this case, two shirts.

“I keep two computers on my desk,” Ms. Bagwell said. “That way I can check my account for any emails I get from [Heritage and] Independence students and faculty.”

Ms. Bagwell began working part-time at Heritage in addition to her previous job at a radio station in 2013.

“When I was hired, it was to help ease the load,” Ms. Bagwell said. “They had the CTE teacher teach broadcast, but that wasn’t working with the CTE schedule. I was still in the industry at the time. I was interested in teaching full time, but because of the way that the course numbers allotted, there wasn’t a need on A day.”

Once Independence opened in 2014, Ms. Bagwell accepted a full-time teaching and advising position from the district, working part-time for both campuses.

“I was ready to get out of the media business and I was really enjoying teaching,” Ms. Bagwell said. “It gave me the opportunity to not only teach full time, but to get the experience of [building] a brand new program.”

Ms. Bagwell wasn’t aware of what she had agreed to when becoming the adviser to two programs.

“In the beginning, I looked at the courses like I am just teaching two classes,” Ms. Bagwell said. “It wasn’t until recently that I realized that I am managing two student-ran productions. It requires so much more time outside of regular classroom instruction.”

Ms. Bagwell compensates by getting to work daily an hour earlier than teachers are expected to arrive, and stays until 5:45 p.m. most days. And when she gets home, she keeps working.

“I’m usually wrapped up in scripts and graphics until 9:00 p.m.,” Ms. Bagwell said. “I recently counted it up and I work 60 hour weeks.”

Part of both broadcast programs includes producing school announcements and news.

“All of the information is distributed on a daily basis through us, so if we don’t get it right, we aren’t putting accurate information out there,” Ms. Bagwell said. “The challenge is in managing the information for both campuses, and managing the students who disseminate the information.”

Ms. Bagwell feels as though she has to be in two places at once. And because her students are in front of both campuses, this challenge is public.

“For each school, those programs are the voices that are being heard every day,” Ms. Bagwell said. “So if we miss something, it’s obvious. When I’m not there to fix it, that becomes hard.  If one of my staffers ask for some information that I could get to help them with their story, I can’t really do the legwork I need to for them because I’m not on that campus.”

Procedures and faculty expectations at each school are different, which is a constant work in progress for Ms. Bagwell.

“There will be things happening administratively that I can’t tackle outside of my email,” Ms. Bagwell said. “As teachers, we all have different paperwork that we have to do. If I need to address a student issue, I can’t do it until the next day that I am on that campus.”

Despite the challenges, Ms. Bagwell still cares for her students no matter what school colors they wear.

“There are days when I’ll be teaching at Independence, and all of a sudden, I’ll start thinking about how much I miss my Heritage broadcast kids, and I’ll wonder how their days are going,” Ms. Bagwell said.

No matter what shirt she is wearing or what campus she is driving to, Ms. Bagwell loves the uniqueness that comes with working  at both schools.

“My favorite part about working at both campuses is that even though they have similarities, they both also have very different cultures,” Ms. Bagwell said. “I get to teach people from different parts of the district and I really love being able to alter the delivery for the personalities, for the type of school spirit and to appease the audience.”

Through the challenges, Ms. Bagwell perseveres as she is focused on her student journalists’ success.

“Each day I’m inspired by their creative shots and unique storytelling abilities,” Ms. Bagwell said. “I hope that I’ve helped my students become critical thinkers and confident in themselves as a young adults. Journalism serves as a catalyst for students to become engaged in their community and I hope they’ve discovered a little of themselves along the way.”