Government of the District of Columbia
Executive Office of the Mayor



Office of Cable Television
3007 Tilden Street, N.W., Pod-P
Washington, D.C. 20008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 6, 2008

CONTACT: Kenneth Borden 202.671.0057, Kenneth.Borden@dc.gov

Fenty, Office of Cable Television Launch McKinley Technology High School TV Studio

Empowering District Students with Television Production Skills

Washington, DC – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Chancellor Michelle Rhee, McKinley Technology High School Principal David Pinder and Office of Cable Television (OCT) Director Eric E. Richardson today hosted the official reopening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly modernized District Public Schools Television Production Studio. Located on the McKinley Technology High School campus, the studio has undergone a complete renovation, and now offers a state-of-the-art production environment for the development and execution of programming to be featured on the District’s Education Access Channel District Schools Television (DSTV). The station broadcasts 24 hours a day on Comcast Ch 99 and RCN Ch 18.

“We are committed to making our schools excellent when we changed the governance structure,” said Mayor Fenty. “Getting this studio back up and running and offering our young people a new opportunity for learning is exactly what we had in mind when we took this on and we expect to continue to create more programs to give our students the competitive advantage they need.”

Now a division of OCT, DSTV will continue to work with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) to create educational programs. The channel will also feature programming that coincides with the curriculum set forth in various schools throughout DCPS. The bulk of the programming will feature content produced by the students.

“This is an excellent opportunity for our students to get hands-on experience, learning the ins and outs of television film and video production,” said Chancellor Rhee. “This is also a perfect example of the type of high quality technical programs we plan to offer students going forward.”

For nearly fours years, the new McKinley studio sat vacant awaiting construction. Under Mayor Fenty’s school reform initiative, the project was completed in only four months.

Student journalist, mayoral interviewer and McKinley Tech senior Riah Williams was especially enthused about the new studio. “It means a lot,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for this for two years. I think it will really help the students.”

Seventeen-year old McKinley Tech senior Leroy Massey, studio floor director with three years of radio and television experience under his belt added, "It's great to have this studio here because this school is based in technology. This new studio is great and gives us something to work for."

OCT has trained more than 30 students on mobile and studio television production. The training has allowed students to work on broadcast-quality equipment that major media outlets use daily.

“The new production studio will be an exciting portal for our talented DCPS students to voyage into the world of broadcast media. It will provide hands-on training in all aspects of the television production process,” said OCT Director Eric E. Richardson. “Students will gain valuable insight and experience as they prepare for their college and career success in communications.”

Under the Chancellor’s Renew, Revitalize and Reorganize plan, McKinley Tech is slated to become a STEM school providing enriched instruction around science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

OCT is the District Government Agency responsible for regulating cable television in the District, as well as the administration of the District’s Government Access Channels TV-16 and TV-13 and the District’s Education Access Channel DSTV. The mission of TV-16 is to provide information regarding the many programs, services and opportunities made available by the District of Columbia Government. The mission of TV-13 is to provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the live and recorded activities of the DC City Council and its various committees. The mission of DSTV is to complement and reinforce the efforts of the District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor and the State Superintendent of Education to achieve improved student learning in every classroom, in every school, in every community; and, to ensure that all students are fully prepared for life after high school. Together these three channels are intended to provide District of Columbia residents access to the activities and processes of their government and public school system.

For more information regarding OCT, please visit the agency’s website:
http://www.oct.dc.gov