Education

Parents to ‘Tune In’ to Broadcasts Their Students See

By Michele Molnar — July 03, 2012 1 min read
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Parents in the San Diego Unified School District will be able to view the same Channel One News InterActiv broadcasts their 3rd- through 12-grade students see at school this fall, via a new Parent Connection App downloaded to their mobile devices for free.

The goal is to promote dinner table conversation and help parents reinforce what children are learning in the classroom. Current events are combined with standards-aligned content in the Channel One broadcasts.

By clicking on a URL provided by the mobile application, parents can access the day’s video—with the hope that they will make a point of discussing it. Parents can also view updates using the district’s existing parent portal.

Promethean, Channel One News, and the National PTA combined to make the announcement about the Parent Connection. San Diego Unified is the first school district in the country to offer this opportunity for parent involvement.

“Studies continue to show that family engagement is a critical ingredient for student success,” said Betsy Landers, President, National PTA. The PTA looks forward to “examining how this program will help families and what, if any, impact it will have on the types of family engagement behaviors that ultimately lead to positive student outcomes, such as improved student academic achievement,” she added.

Channel One News InterActiv delivers daily news to school districts that subscribe to it. Assessments of students’ knowledge are embedded into the broadcast, using on screen buttons and Promethean Learner Response Devices.

What do you think about this new way parents can “tune in” to their students’ learning about current events?

A version of this news article first appeared in the K-12 Parents and the Public blog.