Focus on TUSD - October 2007

Window Into the World: TUSD-TV Showcases Students, Teachers on Cable Station
For two decades, TUSD-TV, the cable television station that the Tucson Unified School District operates, has been a window into the world of teenagers, building a positive community relationship between schools and neighborhoods.

It offers a blend of programming on a shoestring, serving up satellite shows, original productions and taped news events on a $100,000 annual budget. But a good program needs more than double that amount -- about $250,000 -- to produce high quality programming, said Mary Canty, the station manager.

The station is part of the District's Communications & Media Relations Department.

Canty took over three years ago, just after budget cuts had forced the station into a 14-month hiatus. "When I started, the studio was like a ghost town," she recalled. "The staff had been reassigned to other departments and there were even personal belongings still at the desks."

But she and a small staff prevailed. Now, four school districts -- Sunnyside Unified, Catalina Foothills, Amphitheater and Sahuarita Unified -- have formed a consortium called Tucson's Education Station (TED-TV) to boost the station's offerings. Each district is invited to broadcast four hours of air time each week, Monday through Thursday.

"We can't afford to do a survey, but anecdotal evidence shows the station is viewed by students, parents and the community," Canty said. "People are enthused when they see the programming."

For example, when Amphitheater went on the air for the first time on Sept. 25, eight viewers called by 9 a.m. to say they'd watched, Canty said.

In TUSD, Tucson High Magnet School, Pueblo Magnet High School and Wakefield Middle School each have a couple of two-hour program blocks. District students present poetry, music videos, short films, mariachi music and record their own graduation ceremonies.

When the Joint Technological Education District (JTED) students are ready, they're expected to offer distance learning educational opportunities and media students may also produce programs.

Canty and her crew also produce TUSD news that is event or performance based, such as the Awards and Recognition Ceremony and the Opening Minds through the Arts (OMA) Showcase. "Compared to sports, these events are relatively easy to produce, but they're still a challenge," Canty said.

When she plans programming, Canty said the District leans toward creative programs as much as possible, featuring TUSD students, technology and diversity. "There are certain themes in our programs that make it distinctive," she said.

Besides students, the TV station also showcases teachers and classrooms. "One of the best parts of my job is getting into the classroom and seeing the kids," Canty said. "I've seen some wonderful classes and programs."

Down the road, Canty wants to launch live coverage of varsity sports and regular student-based news programs. But that would take more resources. Canty said TUSD is working to secure other funding from business and government entities to supplement the budget. "We have huge potential and we're not meeting it," Canty said.

Canty, who has produced educational TV programming and been a media arts trainer on a Native American reservation, would also like to have a mobile production van to take to schools and produce programs.

"The TV studio is one outlet for telling the TUSD story," she said. "The TV station gives students one more tool to express what's going on in their lives and it gives the community a positive image of our District."

-- By Sharon Dunham
Communications & Media Relations