Hi-def comes to high school program

Federal grant funds new equipment

MOSES LAKE — Shortly after Moses Lake High School teacher Bob Schroeder came to work in the district, the former KIRO TV employee wanted to get to work on offering a hands-on television production program for students in the district.

Nine years later the television production program at MLHS has gained a widespread reputation among students, not to mention sports enthusiasts and organizers of annual events who enlist the help of BNC TV students to broadcast for them.

The program's latest addition is the acquisition of two hi-definition television monitors to shoot and generate hi-definition footage.

"Any clients we get who want to do hi-definition, we can shoot that," Schroeder said. "This is the way the future is going in television and we want to be part of that."

The school purchased the hi-definition monitors with funds received from the federal Carl D. Perkins grant for vocational and applied technology programs.

Schroeder's program received $18,000 in grant funds.

MLHS is one of the first schools in the state to acquire the hi-definition equipment, Schroeder said.

Doug Miles, production manager with KHQ-TV in Spokane made a visit to Schroeder's class in April.

Miles complimented Schroeder on maintaining a program that gives students real world experience rather than keeping them confined to the classroom.

"They make better employees when we get them because they're used to it," Miles said.

In public schools, broadcast journalism is becoming more common as a course offering than it has in previous years, Miles said. The availability of affordable equipment and attracting non-traditional students who otherwise would not be in school are two reasons he said interest in the industry is increasing among students.

Schroeder started by working at Columbia Basin Secondary School, then known as Columbia Basin Alternative High School, using analog cameras.

"They just started with an old van which they still have and he said, 'I want to go do this,'" said MLHS vocational director Christine Armstrong of Schroeder's desire to give students hands-on experience.

Over time more equipment was purchased and Schroeder moved to MLHS where the program continued to grow.

The 23-person crew at the high school uses Final Cut Pro 5, a state of the art editing system.

"We're better equipped than most TV stations this side of the mountains," Schroeder said.

What the program needs now is a 16-foot step van to make transport of television equipment easier and prevent damage to equipment.

So many requests have come in for Schroeder's students to broadcast events, that during an average school year they will spend between 300 and 400 hours working outside of regular class time.

That equals out to about 70 events a year.

Those events range from Battle of the Bands, school district awards night, career fairs and high school football.

Currently Schroeder said the high school program is trying to work out a deal to possibly tape city council meetings. Schroeder also mentioned the possibility of working with Northland Cable to air more live shows.

"A lot of programs are going on in the district that no one knows about and we need to tell people about it," he said.