State Superintendent Announces Second Season of "VA TV Classroom"
RICHMOND — Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane announced today that the Virginia Department of Education and the state’s public television stations will present a second season of “VA TV Classroom,” beginning later this month.
“VA TV Classroom” debuted in April to provide over-the-air instruction for students without sufficient internet access to support online learning. VDOE and WHRO Public Media — with support from $200,000 in CARES Act funding — collaborated to produce content for a second season of the on-air school. The new broadcasts will provide instruction in English and mathematics for students in grades K-7. Lessons will incorporate concepts from other subjects, including science and history.
“I want to thank WHRO and the outstanding educators involved in this project for creating quality instructional programming fully aligned with the Standards of Learning and providing another option for students and schools that are beginning the new year either entirely or partially in the virtual setting,” Lane said. “’VA TV Classroom’ fills a critical need and will be especially important for students in rural school divisions where many homes and communities don’t have broadband.”
Virginia public media stations will broadcast “VA TV Classroom” Monday-Friday beginning Monday, September 14 and concluding on Friday, October 23. The on-air schedule is as follows:
- “Learn to Grow,” 11 a.m.-12 p.m. — Instruction for students in grades K-3
- “Continue to Know,” 12-1 p.m. — Instruction for students in grades 4-7
“VA TV Classroom” will air on the following public media stations:
- WHRO — Serving Hampton Roads and Eastern Virginia
- VPM — Serving the Richmond and Charlottesville areas and the Shenandoah Valley
- WETA — Serving Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. region
- Blue Ridge PBS — Serving the Roanoke and Lynchburg areas and Southwestern Virginia
“WHRO is proud to partner with VDOE to produce ‘VA TV Classroom’ for a second season,” said Bert Schmidt, president and CEO of WHRO Public Media. “This classroom will broadcast lessons from 32 teachers, 16 for kindergarten through third grade and 16 for grades 4-7. Having teachers teaching on TV is more important than ever for families here in Eastern Virginia and across the state.”
“Blue Ridge PBS is excited to continue with ‘VA TV Classroom’ for our youngest learners and families during this unprecedented time,” said William Anderson, president and CEO of Blue Ridge PBS. “Our broadcast and online digital streaming resources are a vital link to providing meaningful educational content to all of Southwest Virginia.”
“WETA is pleased to continue our partnership to provide Virginia communities with instructional tools for families, educators and caregivers,” said Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president and CEO of WETA. "Public television has always been a trusted resource for learning, and in these challenging times our mission to present educational content for students of all ages is more important than ever.”
"Since many families are starting the new school year at home due to the pandemic, public television's educational mission is now more important than ever before. VPM is proud to partner with these stations and VDOE to bring a new season of instructional content to students and families in Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, available both online and via broadcast for those without broadband," said Jayme Swain, CEO of the Virginia Foundation for Public Media and president, VPM.
“VA TV Classroom” programs are also available for school divisions to air on their local access or local school channel. School divisions should contact their local public media stations for details on requesting programs. The contacts for each station are as follows:
- VPM — Richard Ogo, rogo@vpm.org
- Blue Ridge PBS — Rose Martin, rmartin@blueridgepbs.org
- WETA — Bryant Wilson, bwilson@weta.org, or Ferne Barrow, fbarrow@weta.org
- WHRO Public Media — Heather Mazzoni, heather.mazzoni@whro.org
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