BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Public Television is using its airways to combat accessibility problems for kids out of the classroom. Teachers across the state are filming curriculum to air on TV.
"We learned that there are tens of thousands of parents and kids who are at home obviously bc school is closed but don't have adequate internet access at home," said general manager Ron Pisaneschi.
The programming is a collaboration between Idaho Public TV, Idaho Business for Education, and the State Department of Education. SDE helped select the teachers for the streaming.
"I was particular that we needed representation from across the state and not just one specific area, so we reached out across the board," said teacher ambassador Kari Wardle.
Other teachers are using the program as a supplement to what they're sending home.
"The teachers are really mindful of that, so they're really designing these, so students do need a lot at home, other than you know a paper and pencil maybe some crayons," said Wardle.
The goal is to get access to more kids. Third-grade material starts at 8 A.M. Fourth-grade material is at 9 A.M. Fifth-grade material is at 10 A.M., and it builds to the sixth-grade curriculum at 11 A.M. At noon, they repeat the third-grade curriculum for those who might have missed it in northern Idaho.
It's all free through channel 4.3 and on YouTube.
"Since Idaho Public Television really is the only, completely statewide media, we reach virtual 100% of the households in Idaho," said Pisaneschi.
The groups are talking right now about possibly extending the programming into the summer months.
