High school radio stations in the United States will come together April 24 for High School Radio Day 2013, following the inaugural event last May.
Organizers hope HSRD will raise the profile of the limited number of high school radio stations still broadcasting.
A website has been created to publicize the activities planned by participating stations. Schools can register with a link to their station website.
The day will include live broadcasts from different high school stations around the country on the HSRD website. There will be links to station streams also on the website.
High School Radio Day was created following the successful launch of College Radio Day in October, 2011. Founder Pete Bowers, the station manager of WBFH(FM) in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., decided to hold the day May 16 last year because it is the anniversary of the first U.S. high school radio station WNAS(FM) in Albany, N.Y.’s inaugural broadcast in 1949.
Bowers estimates that there are about 200 high schools in the nation with either a terrestrial over-the-air noncommercial, educational radio station or an Internet-only radio station.
“And that number is dropping,” said Bowers. “That’s why we need to unite on High School Radio Day and make the public aware of what we do, how we do it and the service we provide our communities.”
Last year, 31 schools from 16 states registered for the event, and participating high school stations are listed on the website. Students and advisors at those stations reached out to potential listeners in their broadcast area and online, and a video chat enabled stations to talk discuss issues that high school stations face that differ from college and commercial stations.