June '09 Vegas PBS Column

Vegas PBS Named Recipient of National PBS TeacherLine Grant

Vegas PBS is the recipient of a PBS TeacherLine grant due to the success of the TeacherLine program locally and its strong educational partnerships within the community. Funding from the grant will be distributed to Vegas PBS over the course of three years and will be used to increase teacher enrollment and aid teachers in salary advancement or certification requirements through course completion.

For the past eight years, Vegas PBS TeacherLine has offered online professional development courses to Clark County School District (CCSD) teachers to assist in certification and professional development. As a result, over 3,000 teachers have been able to meet certification requirements through the Vegas PBS TeacherLine courses. Vegas PBS has emerged as one of the largest providers of graduate level teacher courses in the state through the TeacherLine program. The program’s facilitators lead over 90 top-quality, standards-based courses that span all curriculum subjects.

As part of the grant, Vegas PBS will receive a stipend of $6,000 per year and 30 free introductory enrollments for teachers to its new courses. Vegas PBS will also be working with PBS and NASA in the development and distribution of additional science related courses.

Vegas PBS is one of four PBS affiliates to be awarded the TeacherLine grant. Throughout the nation, 67 PBS affiliates participate in TeacherLine.

In addition to its TeacherLine courses and initiatives, Vegas PBS also provides education material through its Video Streaming Service, Educational Media Center, Instructional ITV Guide, CCSD Virtual High School, Keeping Kids Fit, Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), School Duplication Service and Ready to Learn.

For more than 40 years, Vegas PBS has provided Southern Nevada with quality, commercial free programming, media and media delivery technology. Vegas PBS provides broadcast TV and cable over seven channels with an additional six educational channels provided directly to the classroom. Vegas PBS local productions include, Nevada Week in Review, Your Health Matters, Outdoor Nevada, Wonders of the West, Inside Education, Homework Hotline, CCSD Varsity Quiz, election debates and coverage and daily live classes for CCSD Virtual High School. In 2009, Vegas PBS completes construction on its Educational Technology Campus, a model for sustainability and green building practices representing the first television station in North America to publicly register for LEED Gold Certification prior to construction. Officially opening in August 2009, the Vegas PBS Educational Technology Campus will house Vegas PBS studios and offices, the CCSD Virtual High School, Educational Media Services, the Emergency Response Data-casting System, public meeting rooms and training facilities. Visit www.VegasPBS.org for additional information and programming highlights.