PBS steps in to fill void for schools
Tennessee children who are stuck at home amid the spread of the coronavirus will soon be able to tune to public broadcasting stations across the state to fill some of the void left by canceled classes.
Starting on April 6, PBS stations across the state will launch at least six hours of “high-quality instructional” programming to teach kids and teens who are not in school. The programming will run weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon, and four more hours will be streamed overnight, according to a news release.
In Nashville, specialized programming will start earlier and broadcast for longer each day, said Kevin Crane, CEO of Nashville Public Television. Starting Monday, standard shows for young children will broadcast from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., then new programming for middle and high school students will play from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Shows oriented for teens span the subjects of science, math, history and language arts and include shows like Nova, American Experience and documentaries about the Roosevelt family and women's suffrage, Crane said.
As the growing coronavirus outbreak closes classrooms and forces students to fall behind, PBS programming tightropes through a debate over how schools should respond. Most universities have moved lessons online, but public schools largely haven't because it would be unfair to students who don't have reliable access to the internet or can't take advantage of online classes because of disability or language barriers. In Nashville public schools, teachers have been encouraged to put optional class materials online but instructed not to send online assignments to their students.
Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Adrienne Battle said Wednesday that public broadcasting was valuable because it would reach the widest swath of students and families. She said the district was still looking at options for online and “hard copy” learning.
“We know that many of our students don't have access to online materials," Battle said, "so through the partnership with NPT we wanted to expand our reach to many of our students and families, given their access to the Nashville public television station."
Coronavirus has spread through Tennessee and the nation and upending the American way of life in a matter of weeks. Most businesses and schools are closed, and residents have been encouraged to stay inside as much as possible to slow the spread of the virus. As of Wednesday afternoon, Tennessee health officials had tallied 784 cases, 53 hospitalizations and three deaths linked to the virus.
Gov. Bill Lee has called on all schools to remain closed until at least April 24. Battle said on Wednesday morning that Nashville public schools would follow the governor's recommendation.
“But we don't want the learning to stop just because our school buildings are closed,” Battle added.
Outside of Nashville, specialized programming will also be available on East Tennessee PBS, WCTE Upper Cumberland, WKNO Memphis, West TN PBS and Chattanooga WTCI.
The shows have been developed by Tennessee educations “in partnership” with the Tennessee Department of Education, a news release stated.
“This is an incredible example of Tennesseans coming together to support kids,” state Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said. “Families and students are hungry for content right now, and we are grateful our local stations have stepped up to help fill this need.”
Brett Kelman is the health care reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 615-259-8287 or at brett. kelman@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @brettkelman.
The programming will run weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon, and four more hours will be streamed overnight, according to a news release.