Oftentimes throughout a teacher’s training, “teachable moments” are discussed, and educators are encouraged to be flexible and willing to veer off from a previously established lesson plan in order to follow their students’ lead. 

In Regina Hogan’s sophomore, junior and senior Graphic Communications pathways classes at the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center (CACTC), that teachable moment arose last year in a most unexpected way, as students grappled with their emotions following the Valentine’s Day school massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, where 17 from the school community there lost their lives and many more were injured. 

An experienced teacher of nearly a decade, Hogan followed her students’ lead after hearing their conversations and concerns last spring, and together they created what she feels is one of the best lessons and culminating projects she’s done with students to date, their See Something, Say Something campaign.

“A lot of students, as well as faculty, were upset, stressed, not knowing how to really come together with their emotions, so we all just kind of talked about it and I questioned them, ‘What can we do? What is within your reach to help spread awareness of the issues that could lead to these violent acts,’” Hogan said. “So we came up with the See Something, Say Something campaign. The students created the concepts and we went around the campus and took photo shoots of those specific concepts, edited the photos, created the design and layout using Adobe software that we use in class every day, and then we did the production of it.”

See Something, Say Something culminated in the unveiling last week of five 24 x 36 sized posters designed by the students in her program over a period of months which involved bringing a concept to life through planning, design, photography and acting as well as the final mechanical production of the posters. Several of the posters incorporated QR codes on them, which connect to a YouTube channel which shows behind-the-scenes videos chronicling the making of the posters. Approximately 30 students served as actors and actresses in the productions.

“It just started with discussions. People felt personally struck by the shooting, thinking it could’ve been us, it still could be us,” said junior Jordyn Payne. “After it happened, people just moved on and we felt that it didn’t get the light it deserved, that it greatly needed to have, so we took it upon ourselves to make it bigger, more known, and to leave a long-lasting message.”

According to Payne, it was Hogan’s flexibility that helped to make the See Something, Say Something campaign what it is now, an all-encompassing campaign which reminds students to watch, and to listen, and to speak up rather than stepping aside when they see or hear something concerning.

“Ms. Hogan let us go beyond school shootings,” Payne said. “We talked about mental health issues, any things that needed more light shed on them that were school issues. I was the designer for one, which centered around bullying and it was called ‘It Only Takes One Voice.’ It shows a bystander, which is the position most people take and if one person who stops something, it can change someone’s life, make a difference and make the world a better place.”

The project roles were vast and varied, and many students had more than one role, including being designers, planners, actors, photographers, hair and makeup artists, photo editors, and members of the production team.

“I am so grateful to have been a part of something so big,” said Payne. “To be a sophomore last year, in my first year of the program and to be part of something so big was just amazing.”

For some of the seniors who graduated in June, the unveiling last week allowed for an opportunity to return to Cranston West to see the finished products revealed. Shirley Figueroa and Camryn Sandbach returned on Wednesday for the unveiling. Both had been actors in the posters and were anxious to see the big reveal.

“It was really fun, and it was all because of conversations we had in class,” said Figueroa, who is at Johnson and Wales University studying graphic design. 

“It was very different seeing it from the outside, after being on the inside last year,” said Sandbach, who is a freshman at the Community College of Rhode Island. “I was glad to be a part of it.”

Actor Sam Soler, a junior this year, liked the interactive, hands-on nature of the project, and felt that it was a good experience overall.

“It’s exciting to see them unveiled,” he said. 

The project was also a cross-curricular collaboration of sorts, with Nancy Vitulli and her drama department lending their expertise for the hair and makeup for the actors. The posters revolved around serious issues of bullying, school threats, cutting and self-harm, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns.

“It means the most to me that this was all student made and student-driven,” Hogan said.

The five posters were set to be on display in the school in the coming days.