Welcome to The Public School Podcast, where real stories, real people, and real passion for
education come together. Hosted by Sara Hornick, Executive Director of the Public School
Foundation, and Bobbi Schaefbauer, Community Relations Manager for Rapid City Area
Schools, we’re diving into the heart of public education.
Each episode, we sit down with community members, dedicated school staff, and passionate
advocates to ask one simple but powerful question:
Why do public schools matter?
From classroom wins to community-wide challenges, The Public School Podcast is your
front-row seat to the conversations that shape our students’ futures and our shared tomorrow.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
What happens when your kids graduate from public school? For Holly Knox, you keep showing up.
Community advocate, nurse and parent of two former Rapid City Area Schools students Holly Knox joins Sara Hornick and Bobbi Schaefbauer to talk about why supporting public education doesn’t end when your own children leave the classroom.
Holly shares what she learned while helping select the district’s Teacher of the Year, including the incredible work happening behind classroom doors and the innovation, creativity and dedication teachers bring to their students every day. The conversation also celebrates a remarkable year of recognition for RCAS staff and explores why community involvement, accurate information and understanding the “why” behind school decisions matter.
From Facebook comments and heat dismissals to Nerf football, spelling bees, chili and sweet rolls, and the teacher Holly still remembers decades later, this episode is a reminder that schools are about much more than the students sitting in classrooms today. They help shape the community all of us will share tomorrow.
As Holly puts it: “If not us, then who?”
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
14 Oct 2026
Great Schools Don’t Happen by Accident
What does it take to build strong schools, strong kids and a thriving community? Sara Hornick and Bobbi Schaefbauer sit down with Jacqui Dietrich, president and CEO of the John T. Vucurevich Foundation, to talk about Education for Every Child, a community campaign built around the belief that when children succeed, the entire community succeeds.
Jacqui shares how the foundation is investing in Rapid City families, from early learning and child care to workforce opportunities, basic needs and affordable housing. The conversation also explores the people and moments in public education that can change the direction of a child's life, sometimes through something as simple as a teacher seeing potential in a student before they see it in themselves.
They also dive into the campaign's "force of nature" message, why supporting public education matters even if you don't have children in school, and the many ways people can show up for their neighborhood schools. Because great schools don't happen by accident. They happen when a community decides its kids are worth investing in.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
7 Oct 2026
You Can’t Be What You Can’t See
What if students could try on a career before deciding their future?
In this episode of the Public School Podcast, Sara Hornick and Bobbi Schaefbauer sit down with Colleen Bsharah, senior career development consultant with Sanford Health and a new Rapid City Public School Foundation board member, to talk about Aspire by Sanford and the opportunities it is creating for local students.
From job shadowing and hands-on healthcare activities to high school internships where students become actual Sanford Health employees, Aspire is helping students discover what working in healthcare really looks like. And that means far more than becoming a doctor or nurse. Students are being introduced to careers in radiology, physical therapy, laboratory work, anesthesia, human resources, marketing and many other areas they may never have considered.
Colleen also explains why career exploration should begin long before college, how Sanford is tailoring programs for students from kindergarten through high school, and why discovering what you don't want to do can be just as valuable as discovering what you do.
Plus, Colleen talks about joining the Rapid City Public School Foundation board, the teacher who made a lasting impact on her, her love of square school pizza and why investing in public education is really an investment in the future of the entire Rapid City community.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Who has been a guest on Public School Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Sateera Thompsen
Ross Hunter
MATT MCCORMICK
Aly Quinn
Nicole Schlabach
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 28 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
43
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
Contact Public School Podcast
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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