The Media Production class at the Jr./Sr. High School has come a long way the past few years.
What started as announcements on the school PA system, is now a daily broadcast livestreamed from a news studio featuring a control room, green screen, anchor desk and teleprompter. And now, thanks to the efforts of one student, the class has even more technology at its disposal. 
With assistance from Media Production co-teachers, Mrs. Weissenberger, Mr. Cieri and Mr. Cardillo, Cody Tarkowski, a senior in his second year in the Media Production class, secured a $500 “classroom” grant from the Rome Teachers Federal Credit Union. The purpose of the grant is to help students achieve more in the classroom.
“Mrs. Weissenberger approached me and told me there was a grant our class could apply for,” Cody said. “She asked me if I thought there was anything that could improve our Media Production program, so I brainstormed some ideas and asked a few of my classmates for their thoughts. We decided a GoPro would be extremely beneficial.”
On December 6, Cody’s parents visited the Media Production class. Mr. Cieri and Mr. Cardillo spoke about Cody and the class’ daily routine. They then asked Cody, who was the “leader” for the day, to open an envelope. When he did, he found a letter from the Rome Teachers Federal Credit Union informing him that the Media Production Class was awarded a $500 grant to purchase a “GoPro Hero 7 Black” with audio accessories. The news was a total surprise.
“When I opened the envelope and read the letter, I was reminded of all of my hard work, and I was really proud,” Cody said. “Mrs. Weissenberger and I worked on the application for about three weeks, and the final application was the seventh or eighth version because we wanted it to be perfect and really display the spirit of the Media Production program.”
According to Cody, the GoPro will add another dimension to the Media Production class - - allowing students to do even more. He says the camera will make it possible for students to easily record “mobile” interviews before, during and after school events, particularly sports contests. The interviews can then be played during the next morning’s live broadcast.
“If you just put normal announcements on every day, it’s easy for students watching to tune them out,” Cody explained. “Our job is to grab and keep their attention, and interviews are a great way to do that. People like to hear from their friends after a big moment or game.”
The opportunity to do so has Cody so excited about the future of the Media Production class.
“It really is all about the people,” Cody chimed. “If we have the people in the class that want to excel… want this program to excel… then it will. People like me and people that I know will put in extra time to go to a school event, do interviews and then put them on the live morning broadcast.”
A recipe Cody says will only help the Media Production class - - and program - - continue to grow and positively serve more students.
“I guarantee you kids will want to take this class next year,” Cody said. “Kids want to do ‘real’ stuff, and you get that with Media Production. It’s crazy that in just 40 minutes every morning, we get so much done and the broadcast always looks so great.”
The Media Production class broadcasts the day’s most important news live every morning at 9:57 sharp. Before going live, the designated team leader follows a precise schedule. He or she first conducts a team meeting to discuss the previous day’s announcements and what went well and what can improve. He or she then assigns each classmate to a specific assignment for the day’s broadcast. There are two or three anchors, sound and graphics techs, along with a person in charge of operating the teleprompter - - all overseen by the team leader. After a few practice runs and the actual five-minute broadcast, the class huddles up for a motivating chant before departing for the rest of the school day.