Strengthening Our Roots
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2015 ANNUAL REPORT Strengthening Our Roots WHRO Public Media was founded on two strongly held convictions — there is no more important place to encourage growth than the classrooms of our children, and technology is a powerful and effective tool for nurturing growth. LETTER FROM THE BOARD CHAIR AND PRESIDENT It started with an extraordinary vision in 1961…to use the new technology of television in the classrooms of Hampton and Norfolk public schools. Because of that vision, we are now owned by the region’s 19 school divisions and continue a commitment to education that is at the core of WHRO’s foundation. In 2015, WHRO Public Media continued, as it has for the past 53 years, to utilize technology to educate, engage, entertain, and enlighten. Commitment to Digital Learning During this fiscal year, WHRO provided online classroom tools for the entire state through Virtual Virginia, eMediaVA, and Virginia’s Center for Virtual Learning. eMediaVA alone contains over 115,000 learning objects available to every public, private and homeschool student in Virginia and supports 150,000 educators across the Commonwealth. Early Childhood Education Bert Schmidt Knowing the importance of establishing the foundation for educational success President and Chief with the youngest in our community, we remain dedicated to helping jump-start Executive Officer, WHRO early learning. Our Raising Readers Van made hundreds of community visits supporting kids and their parents with learning resources. We also challenge and celebrate local students’ talents with the Great Computer Challenge, which is in its 30th year, and The Virginian-Pilot Spelling Bee, now in its 8th year. Cradle to Career Building on our expertise in public education, we’ve expanded our services and resources to help adults learn too. Governor Terry McAuliffe and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Maurice Jones, joined WHRO in December of 2014 to underscore the urgency of equipping Virginia’s workforce with much needed competency-based skills. Our response was to announce new educational initiatives: SkillsOnline and American Graduate’s Workplace Readiness. WHRO’s SkillsOnline offers over 4,000 courses in 18 industries that support job seekers preparing for a new position or training for career advancement. American Graduate raises awareness of the challenges youth face on the path Kirkland Kelley to graduation and rallies support for programs, such as mentorship, to make sure Chair, Governing Board, all youth are college and/or career ready. In support of this, coming in 2016, are WHRO the first five of24 Workplace Readiness modules that are designed to teach fundamental work skills valued by employers. These free online teaching tools will be widely available to individuals, employers, community colleges and work investment boards to ensure potential employees have the basic skills to be successful in any workplace. Honoring Veterans Hampton Roads is honored to be home to thousands of active duty service members and more than 217,000 veterans who have transitioned from service to civilian life. Unfortunately, this transition is not always easy as veterans often struggle with personal challenges, both physical and emotional, and in adapting their skills to civilian jobs. Through WHRO’s Veterans Coming Home initiative, we provide information and connections to resources to help ensure a successful move. Our award-winning Veterans Coming Home video series shares their stories of struggles and triumph so others may have hope and see opportunities to succeed. In addition we produced The Virginia International Tattoo: A Scottish Tradition with American Spirit, in partnership with the Virginia Arts Festival, and Navy Seals: Their Untold Story. Recognitions and Awards WHRO’s local programs have also been recognized by the Virginia Association of Broadcasters with seven awards for our work in both radio and television. These recognitions included Best Station Promotion, Best Documentary or Public Affairs Program, Outstanding News Series, Best Documentary, Best Human Interest Series, Outstanding Newscast, and Best Morning Show. We also received a second national Telly Award for The Scene, our original, new programming that connects the arts and community in Hampton Roads. These awards underscore how much importance we place on offering our audiences content that matters in their daily lives. The Programs You Love With all the entertainment options available, it is with great station pride to announce that PBS is now the fifth most watched TV choice, after the four major networks! Almost every hour of primetime viewing has increased from the previous year due to programs such as The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, PBS NewsHour, Antiques Roadshow, Doc Martin, Poldark, A Chef’s Life and, of course, Downton Abbey. And great performances such as Sweeney Todd, Porgy and Bess, American Ballet Theater, and Bruce Springsteen are found only on PBS stations. WHRO and WHRV radio engage and entertain through quality and timely programming. Many NPR shows such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour, The Thomas Jefferson Hour and Wait, Wait...Don’t Tell Me! are a standard fare for our audience’s daily and weekend schedules. Our very own HearSay with Cathy Lewis and Another View with Barbara Hamm Lee continue to provide insight into issues of local concern. And for twenty-five years we have offered 24/7 classical music in response to what our audiences told us they wanted to hear. Our four WHRO television stations and six radio services, as well as a growing digital and social media presence, reach a potential audience of over 2.2 million. As we enter our 54th year, it is our privilege to continue to work to educate, enhance, entertain and enlighten all in support of the listeners, educational institutions and communities we serve. It is your support that makes this possible. Thank you. Bert Schmidt President and Chief Executive Officer, WHRO Kirkland Kelley Chair, Governing Board, WHRO EDUCATION EDUCATION WHRO’s Education division is responsible for: a) services to its 19 owner/member school divisions and educational content, and operates on behalf cross Southeastern Virginia, b) early childhood of the Virginia Department of Education; the services focused on improving literacy, numeracy Commonwealth’s virtual program, Virtual Virginia, and socialization skills for pre-K, c) services for offering Advanced Placement, World Language and educators including professional development other high school courses; and eMediaVASM, the and classroom instructional resources, and d) the state’s digital distribution and learning repository operation of Virginia’s Center for Virtual Learning, for grades K-12. which develops online instructional materials In FY 2015 eMediaVA, the Virginia Department month, eMediaVA serves over 150,000 educators of Education-supported digital content delivery statewide. WHRO conducted more than 50 training system, expanded its content repository to more sessions statewide in FY15 reaching nearly 900 than 113,000 audio, video and interactive learning educators. eMediaVA is made available at no cost to objects correlated to the Virginia standards all Virginia educators and students—public, private of learning. With more content added every and homeschooled. Virginia’s Center for Virtual Learning developed focused on: GIS Educators Training; Wi-Fi Network two new online, rich-media infused courses that Design for a Mobile Learning Environment; Reaching are distributed free of charge to its owner schools: All Learners – Apple Tools for Special Needs; Math Analysis and Chemistry. It also updated and Social Media Use for Teachers; Digital Citizenship; significantly revised several courses, notably its Gamification – Game Theory; Makerspace; App high school course in Earth Science. Creation; Coding for Kids; ITRT-CRS Strategies; and a Legislative Update. WHRO’s professional development staff held several Special Topic Forums throughout the year to address emerging subjects in educational technology. Several hundred educators attended each of the leading-edge forums this year including sessions Early Childhood Education Over the course of FY 2015, WHRO’s Children’s and play games together; and write in the Reading Services reached more than 3,300 parents, 2,250 Buddies Journal together. providers/teachers, and 10,950 children/students who participated in literacy, numeracy and learning In addition, three Super WHY! Reading Camps development programs. WHRO’s PBS KIDS Raising for rising kindergartners were held over the Readers Literacy Van made more than 100 visits summer of 2014. WHRO staff conducted two at in the area, and distributed more than 4,000 First Fort Story Little Creek Child Development Center Books to children most in need. in Virginia Beach and another at Children’s Harbor in Portsmouth. Super WHY! Reading Camps are More than 230 students participated in eight five-day interactive learning adventures where Martha Speaks “Reading Buddies” sessions at we show 4- and 5-year-olds the power of reading Booker T. Washington Elementary, Suffolk; Carver and motivate them to play with letters, sounds Elementary, Newport News; and Lindenwood and words through a comprehensive curriculum Elementary, Norfolk. Martha Speaks “Reading developed by noted literacy experts. Fifteen camps Buddies” reaches over 1,000 Title 1 elementary have been conducted by WHRO since the initiative school students in the region. This cross-age reading began,