Valley teachers sing praises of PBS

Forty-five percent of principals recently surveyed by the Clark County Association of School Administrators said they could not judge the effectiveness of the local Public Broadcasting Service because they were either undecided or it was "not applicable."

What the principals can't judge the teachers rate highly: KLVX-TV, Channel 10, also known as Vegas PBS, provides them with online training and advanced certification classes. The station also is a resource for video that teachers can download for classroom use.

"It's an awesome tool," said Jon Ford, a history teacher at West Preparatory Academy who used the video clips to show students what life was like in colonial America.

"A lot of our students are visual learners," Ford said. "I grew up watching TV."

It's just one example of how KLVX, which is licensed through the district, has expanded its offerings beyond cornerstone programming such as "Sesame Street."

"We started out as a TV station, but we have gone in all different directions," Station Manager Tom Axtell said.

The video Ford finds so useful are intended to emphasize a point, not replace teaching.

"I don't want to convey the message we're just watching video," Ford said.

Teachers also have access to educational materials from the Discovery Channel, Scholastica and in-house programming produced by KLVX.

To fulfill new Nevada training requirements, teachers went online to get required instruction by taking 10 video lessons, nine of which were produced by KLVX.

Organizing traditional classes would have been time consuming and labor intensive.

"Video was the most cost effective way to do it," Axtell said.

The download traffic put a strain on the station Web site the week before school started because so many teachers were logging on, he said.

The online video service has grown in popularity from just under 50,000 hits in 2004 to more than 409,000 hits in 2008.

Through the PBS Teaching Line, local teachers have taken 1,141 online classes related to professional accreditation. Public television stations around the country began putting together a network of online professional development classes in response to the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, which mandated that all teachers "be highly qualified."

Axtell said educators nationwide realized then that their local community colleges were not in the position to keep up with the demand for classes created by No Child Left Behind. Clark County had to find a way to "keep its teachers in the pipeline," he said.

Axtell said Clark County teachers are big users of the Teacher Line network, representing almost one in ten online course-takers last year.

Angelita Moreno, a sixth-grade math teacher at Molasky Middle School, does not consider herself a computer person but enjoyed the convenience of online classes.

"I could take them all from home," she said.

Moreno enjoyed communicating with teachers from California and Florida. Because she earned a B or better on her classes, the district reimbursed her for tuition.

KLVX has become involved in public health, using characters such as Barney the purple dinosaur to teach hygiene basics, fitness and nutrition through community workshops and seminars.

Families who participate in KLVX public health workshops also receive gym bags filled with items such as jumping rope and measuring cups so that families will be aware of sugar and fat content when preparing meals.

Axtell said the station's goal is to come up with creative solutions to community problems. The jump ropes were provided out of consideration that inner city children have limited play space.

The Clark County School Board recently approved a five-year, $500,000 federal grant for the station's Ready to Learn/Keeping Kids Fit program.

The station supports itself through viewer donations and grants, Axtell said.

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@ reviewjournal.com or 702-799-2922.