Students developing live social media

A new way of documenting and preserving athletic games, scholastic events and performances at Amherst Schools is under development.

Comets Live, a different student-run program than the current Steele News Live, will allow students to run YouTube, Twitter and email accounts to document all the events going on at all the schools in the district.

Assistant Superintendent Mike Molnar said during a Nov. 16 Board of Education meeting that the program will be under development over the next couple months, with the district seeking a few grants and the establishment of a fund for the program.

“It’s something that’s going to take some time to develop,” Molnar said.

The importance of having a broadcasting program was accentuated by the pandemic, with a growing need to be able to savor memories and document experiences, he said.

“We recognize going into COVID(-19) the importance of capturing and preserving our history through video,” Molnar said.

In the future, the program would allow anyone, but particularly alumni and graduating seniors interested in taking a blast to the past, to watch performances they took part in during kindergarten, he said.

The differing factors of Steele News Live from the new program is that it keeps students and district families informed by reporting on current happenings of Marion L. Steele High School, while Comets Live will serve the purpose of posting and documenting events.

Comets Live already has streamed the Steele High’s commencement and National Honors Society’s ceremony for 2020.

“We’re looking forward to this new thing,” Molnar said. “It’s something we feel, at the forefront, is a part of our culture.”