Regional Student TV Awards Dominated by Apple Valley, Eastview High Schools

From Eagan to to , Clifford Dodge has had has hands in the creation of award-winning high school broadcast programs across District 196. More than 20 years ago, Dodge, now the media and video specialist at Apple Valley High School, started a hands-on program at Eagan High School for students to learn about broadcasting, and later opened doors at Eastview using the same formula.

This year, the broadcast program he co-teaches with Tzitel Voss at Apple Valley has been nominated for two regional Emmy Awards for their show, "EaglEye;" the awards will be announced at the 2011 Upper Midwest Emmy Awards on Saturday at the State Theatre in Minneapolis.

But already, Apple Valley and Eastview’s broadcast programs have been lauded; the schools won a combined nine of 11 awards in the upper Midwest's Student Television Awards for Excellence.

“When it comes to these awards, its not only amazing to say that they were awarded to District 196 schools, but for them to all go to Apple Valley schools is a big deal,” Dodge said.

Dodge started the Eastview program, then later built the AVHS studio while working as a consultant creating media labs in high schools across the country. He has been at AVHS for five years and in that time has taken on a number of roles, from instructor to district video coordinator, theater coordinator and video club advisor.

“Cliff’s really good at starting programs from scratch; they are all products of his conception,” said Nick Fornicoia, the broadcast instructor at Eastview. “We have continued to expand it but he’s kind of the architect there.”

Student Broadcast Evolution

Eastview’s broadcast program began by offering "The Flash," a weekly news magazine show senior students produce.

Now it involves a prerequisite broadcast class and "The 4Cast," a daily announcement show to get juniors used to articulating in front of a camera. This program involves having a pre-taped show air each day to all the classrooms at Eastview.

At AVHS, "EaglEye" is aired live to the school once every two weeks.

Eastview and AVHS may take different approaches to their broadcasts, but at both schools it's the students who run things.

“Everything from the show concept to the finished product is done by students,” Fornicoia said. “That’s one of the reasons we are so successful.”

When it comes to getting ready for "The Flash" at Eastview, senior Anne Ehresmann said, the rush of knowing the whole school will be watching gives her motivation to do her best work.

“My favorite thing is when I’m sitting in class and get to watch people see the finished product and think it is cool,” Ehresmann said. “Showing another side of the story is so compelling.”

Senior Mallory Michaluk, in her second year working "EaglEye" at AVHS, said she’s always been interested in television and broadcast. After spending two weeks figuring out angles and ironing out the writing, lighting and audio, the preparation pays off at the end of third hour every other Thursday.

“It’s a big adrenaline rush,” she said. “We do fun exercises before the show starts, run through it at least twice and actually go live on the third time."

Not every show goes the way you want it to," Michaluk said. "You just go through it and learn from it.”

A Potential Career Path

Many Eastview and AVHS students continue their broadcast education in college and choose to pursue broadcasting careers.

Students have gone on to become reporters, anchors, producers and more at stations like Fox Sports Los Angeles, NFL Network, WCCO, Kare11 and KFAN.

While both programs have accomplished a lot thus far, there's always room for improvement. Fornicoia said at Eastview he’d like to focus on the converging print and broadcast journalism worlds, and incorporate story and video on the Eastview homepage.

In the future, Dodge said, he and Voss would like to extend the length, rather than the frequency, of the EaglEye. They'd also like to upgrade from standard to high definition.

But the impact of the AVHS broadcast program has expanded to other areas of the schools as well, from theater to science and beyond.

“Video has become a big part of our school, and EaglEye has led the way for that,” Dodge said.

The recent award nominations and wins for Eastview and Apple Valley are listed below. Check out the Apple Valley "EaglEye" YouTube channel, and the Eastview YouTube channel to see the students' work.

Upper Midwest Emmy Award nominations

Community / PSA - Single Spot Category - "Bullying" by AVHS

Teen 13 and Up - Program/Special/Series Category - "EaglEye Extra" by AVHS

Student Television Awards for Excellence

Best Newscast: Apple Valley High, EaglEye #70, students Kayela Daye, Brityn Thompson, Cecilia Lin and Travis Melander, and staff advisers Tzitel Voss and Cliff Dodge
 
Community/Public Services: Apple Valley High, "Bullying," students Melander and Merlin Gulick, and staff adviser Drew McCluskey
 
News, General Assignment: Apple Valley High, "Chilly Winter," students Evan Flatta, Gulick and Thompson
 
News, General Assignment: Eastview High, "Minnesota Wild Contest," students Jordan Wipf and Eric Jipe, and staff adviser Nick Fornicoia
 
Arts and Entertainment: Apple Valley High, "AC Simmons," students Camille Coates, Harmonie Bratton, Shaquade Harper, Irene Chen, Lexi Ruskell and Kyrstin Ogle
 
Sports: Apple Valley High, "Eagle Sports Report," students Gulick, Lin, Melander and Chen
 
Public Affairs/Community Service: Eastview High, "Breast Cancer," student Wipf
 
Writing: Eastview High, "The Flash," student producers Wipf, Averi Haugesag and Joe Nelson
 
Editing: Eastview High, "Diego Perez Composite," student Diego Perez received the Edward J. Piette Leadership Scholarship

EaglEye #70 also was recently named one of three finalists for Best News Show of the Year (monthly or less frequently category) sponsored by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA). The winner will be named Nov. 19 during NSPA's National High School Journalism Convention, which will be held in Minneapolis.