Pioneer Theater (PT) is a gem in the community of Elyria and Lorain County. The long-running children's theater program was established in 1976. This educational summer program teaches children all the way through the age of 18 all aspects of theater from set design to stage acting. After just three-weeks of learning and growing in this summer theater club, the students will perform a live show on stage. It's a fascinating and truly remarkable accomplishment. This year's troupe will perform an old-timey classic: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, July 12 and 13 at the Elyria Performing Arts Center. Joining us on this episode of Petey Podcast is Pioneer Theater Director Madilyn Riley and former PT student and Elyria High School graduate, Lilly Parker.

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

From the earliest days of civilization, group dramatic readings have been a thing. Poets, actors and students have taken to the stage to enthusiastically belt out the lines of a script as audiences visualize each moment. Reader's Theater in schools operates under the same guiding principles, giving students the chance to read and act out dialogue, boosting their reading and presentation skills. Two dynamos of the Elyria Schools Special Education Department have taken this experience even further. Carla Valles, Northwood Elementary, and Kathy Pero, Eastern Heights Middle, have for nearly a decade modified Reader's Theater to tap their students' creative spirits and to strengthen academic goals. Carla, a playwright herself, began creatively adapting beloved stories and books which her students eagerly consumed--even dressing in costumes and presenting their lines on stage with gusto. The newest chronicle in the Valles and Pero Reader's Theater: "The Day the Crayons Went on Strike!" Take a listen to how Reader's Theater has grown in our chat with Carla on Petey Podcast!

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

What a run! Sitting in studio with Coach Brett Larrick and reliving a sensational season for the Elyria High School Boys Basketball team. Take a listen as Coach Larrick describes a whole lotta magic from nail-biter moments to conference titles to division playoffs -- right here on Petey Podcast! Congratulations Elyria Boys Basketball on a phenomenal season!

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!