Press Releases
WCNY announces launch of ‘TV Classroom’ network with Mayor Ben Walsh, City of Syracuse, Superintendent Jaime Alicea, Syracuse City School District at WCNY’s Robert J. Daino Broadcast and Education Center
by
March 30, 2020
WCNY, Central New York’s community-owned public broadcaster, announced the launch of its TV Classroom network at a press conference March 30 at WCNY. The network started airing at 8 a.m. March 30.
The Syracuse City School District and WCNY partnered to create the service for students across Central New York, including the 30 percent in the Syracuse City School District who do not have internet access at home.
The TV Classroom network will be aired from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays on WCNY’s GLOBAL CONNECT channel (GLOBAL CONNECT is on 24.3 with an antenna, 1276 on Spectrum Digital, and 467 on FiOS), and will be simulcast from wcny.org and via a live stream on YouTube. The classes will also be published on demand at wcny.org/tvclassroom.
With schools closed and many children without internet access, WCNY is committed to providing educational opportunities to audiences of all ages. WCNY’S “TV Classroom” will allow children to continue to connect with real teachers and have the continuity of a classroom experience at home in Syracuse and across the 19 counties in Central New York.
“I want to applaud WCNY and the Syracuse City School District for their partnership to provide this critical educational resource to students, especially those without internet access at home,” said Ben Walsh, Mayor, City of Syracuse. “This new network has the ability to impact thousands of students across Central New York while supporting teachers, educators, parents, and families.”
“Education is at the core of WCNY’s mission,” said Mitch Gelman, WCNY President & CEO. “We are pleased to utilize our broadcast capabilities to provide needed educational services to students, educators, and families by developing a community classroom during this challenging time.”
“This is a wonderful partnership and I am so happy that we are able to provide this academic resource for our students and families,” said Jaime Alicea, Syracuse City School District Superintendent. “We have amazing teachers and educational leaders in the Syracuse City School District, and I want to thank them for reimagining what learning looks like at this moment in time.”
Many of Central New York’s top teachers will provide students with grade specific lessons. The “TV Classroom” will start each day with “Storytime” and end with arts and culture programs. It will feature Math, Science, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Health and Fitness, music, and documentary and learning content from the PBS collection in between.
More learning materials can be found on the wcny.org/tvclassroom website. In addition, there is educational content for parents, caregivers, teachers, and educators available at wcny.org/stayconnected. These sites also feature programming schedules, how to watch information and bios of the teachers who are participating in the TV Classroom network.
To support WCNY’s TV Classroom, join the TV Classroom Booster Club, visit wcny.org/boosterclub or mail donations to WCNY TV Classroom Network, 415 W. Fayette St., Syracuse, NY 13204.
The TV Classroom Network is made possible by the generous support of the Community Foundation of Central New York, the Allyn Foundation, United Way, the Literacy Coalition, National Grid, Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, and Geddes Federal Savings.
Normally scheduled programming on GLOBAL CONNECT is being pre-empted for this critical public service initiative. For information on how to find GLOBAL CONNECT, visit wcny.org/wheretowatch.
About WCNY
WCNY was founded in 1965 as The Educational Television Council of Central New York. Today, it is a community-owned media company that produces content across multiple platforms, including television and radio programs, dynamic web and targeted email content, the WCNY CONNECT member magazine, and social media. Through online stream technology, WCNY has a global broadcast audience of viewers and listeners throughout the United States and 17 countries. WCNY operates five digital, pledge-free broadcast channels and three radio stations. Towers are located in Watertown and Utica, and WCNY’s radio programming extends into Canada. Classic FM is one of a few radio stations in the world dedicated to locally programmed music.
Educational services include workshops; a 10,000 square-foot building with dedicated Education Center; Read Out, a radio reading service for the visually impaired; Enterprise America for middle school students; and a media and marketing communications program for high school students.
WCNY is LEED® Platinum Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, the highest certification level achievable in Leadership, Energy & Environmental Design. Other achievements include “Business of the Year” in the nonprofit category in 2014 by CenterState CEO.
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