3643
Center Road
Brunswick,
OH 44212
E-mail John Wasylko
It is said that three's the charm and members of the Brunswick Schools' video program are feeling the magic.
The BEAT, Brunswick Educational Access Television channel 22, has again been selected as the 2010 Hometown Video
Award winner by the Alliance for Community Media. This is the second year in a row - and third in the past five years -
that The BEAT has won the award in its classification - overall excellence in educational access,
budget under $300,000. The Hometown Video Awards received nearly 1,300 entries this year.
Also, The BEAT placed first for the "Best Access Website - Youth" category. Plus, the team of Teri Theobald,
who is going into the eighth grade at Edwards Middle School, and Sean O’Connor, who just graduated from Brunswick High School,
took first-place honors in the "Making A Difference" video category for their Brunswick School News story, "Paper Cranes,"
which details the efforts of Edwards students in creating 1,000 paper origami cranes in support of the Lydia's Hope foundation.
To celebrate The BEAT's success, Clear Channel – Outdoor donated a billboard
to share the word about the students. The billboard features a huge photo of the video program students.
This has been an eventful year for the Video Program, comprised of nearly 40 Brunswick students
in grades six though 12. It was chosen as the first-ever student video documentary team for the 2009 Ohio
School Boards Association Capital Conference (interviewing CNN's Soledad O'Brien, among others), and was a finalist
in Time Warner Cable's National Teacher Awards competition. The latter represents some of the best efforts across the
country and shows how cable resources can be part of unique classroom learning experiences for students. Finally,
Video Program students were one of two student groups nationally to ask questions to U.S. Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan on a live, nationally-broadcast TV program.
The Brunswick Video Program takes a journalistic approach to video production with students, starting in the sixth grade,
learning to recognize a good story, writing it for print and the program's Web page, how to conduct interviews
in the cable studio and in the field and then how to edit and produce the final product.
John Wasylko, Community Relations director for the district, is the chief advisor for the Program. He has worked
with video for 30 years. He is aided by longtime newspaper reporter, 'Sam' Boyer.
"We are very proud of the accomplishments of our students," Wasylko said, "and for the effort they put into this
extracurricular activity. It takes a lot of time and commitment for them to put what they are learning into action."
The BEAT, cable channel 22, was established in 2000 as part of the communications department.
The channel, managed by Brunswick students, features between 125-150 shows annually with students providing news
programs. Other programming includes Brunswick Memories - interviews with longtime residents; SportsBeat - interviews
about and with local sports figures; Board of Education meetings; sports events; concerts and other special events
in the district. The Program, part of the district's Community Relations Department, has received financial support
over the years through donations from over 70 Northeast Ohio businesses.
The program's Web site features links to programs aired on the BEAT's own
streaming video website and Open Lines Online, the program’s news page.
For more information, contact Wasylko at (330) 441-2259 or jwasylko@bcsoh.org.
The BEAT, Brunswick Educational Access Television channel 22 has been selected as the 2009 Hometown Video Award winner by the Alliance for Community Media. This is the second time in four years the BEAT has won the award in its classification – overall excellence in educational access, budget under $200,000. The Hometown Video Awards received nearly 1,200 entries this year.
The Video Program has also been chosen as the official student video documentary team for the 2009 Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference in November. This is the first time OSBA has selected a student team to document its statewide conference, which draws more than 10,000 education leaders from across Ohio.
Rounding out the triple header of recent announcements, the program was selected as a finalist by Time Warner Cable for its National Teacher Awards from a large field of entries. The National Teacher Awards represent some of the best efforts across the country and show how cable resources can be part of unique classroom learning experiences for students. While the program wasn’t the winner, making the finalist list is a huge accomplishment.
It is said that three's the charm and members of the Brunswick Schools' video program are feeling the magic.
The BEAT, Brunswick Educational Access Television channel 22 has been selected as the 2009 Hometown Video Award winner by the Alliance for Community Media. This is the second time in four years the BEAT has won the award in its classification – overall excellence in educational access, budget under $200,000. The Hometown Video Awards received nearly 1,200 entries this year.
The Video Program has also been chosen as the official student video documentary team for the 2009 Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference in November. This is the first time OSBA has selected a student team to document its statewide conference, which draws more than 10,000 education leaders from across Ohio.
Rounding out the triple header of recent announcements, the program was selected as a finalist by Time Warner Cable for its National Teacher Awards from a large field of entries. The National Teacher Awards represent some of the best efforts across the country and show how cable resources can be part of unique classroom learning experiences for students. While the program wasn’t the winner, making the finalist list is a huge accomplishment.
