A four-piece hightop table curves around the embossed Shawnee Mission School District logo. Royal blue curtains frame the walls. Seated at the table are director of professional learning Brittany Gonser, superintendent Michael Schumacher and…
A student barbecue expert?
“Welcome back! Welcome back to ‘Shawnee Mission Mic’d Up.’ I am your proud superintendent and host of this amazing podcast, Mike Schumacher.”
The top administrators at a school district with more than 25,000 students are often laser-focused on large-scale planning. But in their biweekly half-hour podcast, Gonser and Schumacher shift their attention from strategic planning meetings to the stories of individual students and staff — with studio-grade microphones, cameras and equipment.
“Mic’d Up” is recorded at the Center of Academic Achievement and released on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts every other Thursday. The podcast has received thousands of streams over the past three years, covering stories ranging from student authors to national barbeque championships.
“You can kind of lose track of things you’re not directly responsible for, because it’s a big organization, right?” Schumacher said. “[The podcast] is a great opportunity for us to explore those great things that are happening.”
The podcast began in August 2023, with former superintendent Michelle Hubbard and associate superintendent Jeremy Higgins hosting season one. In that first podcast, Hubbard stated the goal was to “reach all avenues of stakeholders in our community.”
“You’re hearing an unscripted, accurate account of these interviews and these stories, so you do see the human side of a district,” multimedia specialist and producer of “Mic’d Up” Jillian Hodges said.
When Schumacher became superintendent, he asked Gonser to co-host the podcast. Having known Gonser for years, he knew he could count on her relaxed personality and positive presence. Apprehensively, she said yes.
“When Schumacher approached me and said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in doing this,’ my first thought was ‘Oh my goodness, I have no experience with anything even kind of like this, are you sure you want me to do that?’” Gonser said. “But I said, ‘Hey, if you’re game, I’m willing to give it a try.’”
Beyond spotlighting the district, Schumacher and Gonser have continued to evolve the podcast well into its current third season as it nears its 50th episode. Interviews have become relaxed and informal conversations — despite the hulking backlights, cameras and screens.
“Whether I’m acting as a politician for the school district or representing us at the state level, I have to button up a little bit,” Schumacher said. “This [podcast] is an opportunity for me to let my hair down and for people to see more of my personality.”
Each podcast begins with a recap of the previous episode, followed by a “ridiculously positive moment” shared by the hosts, ranging from high school musicals to community food security initiatives. Episodes end with a featured photo submitted from around the district.
The podcast did an episode on SM East auto shop teacher Brian Gay in October. After rearranging half the shop, the producers brought in former students of Gay who’d gone on to pursue jobs in the car industry after taking his classes. Although initially nervous, Gay was pleasantly surprised when watching the final product.
“Of course, it’s intimidating,” Gay said. “It’s the superintendent and his higher-ups. But in reality, Dr. Schumacher is a great guy. [I] worked with him for years, and I knew what he was trying to get across.”
Behind each episode, a team of administrators and media experts meets every other week to discuss production, filming at least a day before publishing. Anyone can submit ideas for episodes at micdup@smsd.org.
“We always want to have student guests as much as we can,” Gonser said. “We really enjoy featuring our students on the podcast and getting to know them but then also any opportunities we can take to celebrate staff.”
In the future, Schumacher believes the podcast will gain more viewers, as he’s confident in the strong production and story ideas coordinated by Hodges. Hodges, whose background is in broadcast journalism, says her role in featuring stories from around the district has been even more fulfilling than her prior work.
"I got into journalism because I wanted to tell stories, and I wanted people to be inspired,” Hodges said. “Honestly, I didn't think that there was a position like this, and I’m very, very grateful that it does. I tell people all the time that I have the absolute best job in the world.”
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