News channel down the tubes for two high schools

A national televised news program geared toward education is being nixed in two area high schools to make room for more instructional time.

For the past two decades, students nationwide have spent part of their school day watching Channel One News, an education news program geared toward helping middle and high schoolers stay caught up on current events.

At Central High School, Principal Joe Clifford said students would sit and watch Channel One News as anchors would review national and world news along with highlighting other events and topics affecting teens.

However, with the district seeking a roughly $1.5 million school improvement grant, officials are looking for ways to increase instructional time to meet the grant's requirements.

The $1.5 million grant would be awarded each year for three years and split between the two schools.

And for low-achieving Central and Hernando high schools, that means Channel One got put on the chopping block.

"My focus has to be on what I can do to improve this school," Clifford said. "And that 15 minutes per day is time away from the classroom and now that's something we can't afford."

Ken Pritz, principal at Hernando High School, said neither students nor teachers would see much of a difference next year because the school hasn't broadcasted the show for the past three years.

When he came to the school a few years ago, Pritz learned the school hadn't shown the news show since the school switched to cable from analog.

Although he has informed Channel One officials about the issue, he said he didn't want to correct it and add the 15 minute program to the school schedule if district officials were just going to cancel it.

"The show probably has some value because I can remember showing it," Pritz said, recalling his time as an educator. "But with all the pressure we're receiving with having to increase our minutes of teaching in the classroom, it's just not in our best interest at this time to bring that back."

Although Channel One has received praise for providing world coverage and educational programming about teen topics, the show has concerned educators for years because students are also subjected to advertisements throughout the show.

And for schools to have received the televisions and other equipment years ago, they were also required to show the entire program - meaning school officials couldn't fast-forward through the commercials.

Clifford said the news portion of it likely consisted of seven minutes or so while the rest were advertisements geared toward the teens.

Eric Williams, district accreditation facilitator and grant writer for Hernando County, said although the advertisements aren't the reason officials are looking to cancel the program - it's still an issue.

"Teens are a very highly sought-after demographic and when you're forcing kids to be exposed to something every day, it's an issue," Williams said.

He added although free televisions and other gear might have been attractive offers at one time, changes in technology have made the use of Channel One obsolete.

"Unless they're going to offer us new flat screens and new digital software - it's not worth it to us," Williams said. "What they've given us before is now very antiquated and with the technology our schools have, they can likely put together their own news show."

Clifford added with cell phones and other advancements, students are more connected than they were previously with texted updates, Internet and television available to them in the palm of their hand.

Meanwhile, Williams said other schools in the county are not being asked to end contracts with Channel One or stop showing the news broadcast.

However, he said it's an issue that could return - as it did a few years ago when teachers urged council members to allow them to continue using it to parallel their education curriculum.

"We'll have to wait and see what the effects are at these two schools and then go from there," Williams said.