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Unity With Pam Kids' Tutorial Program

Executive Summary

Unity with Pam Television Show seeks sponsorship funds to fund our educational outreach to at-risk children aged 9-11.

In 2013, after 8 years of non-stop broadcasting, Unity with Pam began a Children’s Educational Broadcasting Program to help local elementary-school aged scholars learn 21st Century arts education by providing training in different facets of television broadcasting such as video filming, script-writing, performance, producing, and photography. For the past two years, the program has instructed children in how to develop and produce actual footage for television and short films. We partner with area schools to provide on-site training as part of their after-school program. Several times a year, the Unity with Pam weekly television show is given over to the children who serve as television-show hosts to a variety of civic and business leaders. The program runs the school year, from August to April. Most services are provided at their school, although we have filmed at local businesses and public spaces including the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta, Georgia.

We currently serve 9 children, with most being Title 1 children who would not otherwise have access to this type of training. The objective is to develop artistic awareness, develop an understanding of how to communicate via television and film, develop skills in the area of visual media, and develop student confidence. In addition, many in the community have generously served as volunteers or interview subjects, enabling the students to interact with a range of business and community leaders they rarely would expect to meet, such as state representatives, the mayor, a film producer, business owners, and civic leaders.

We seek to provide instruction not only in broadcasting, but also in peripheral areas such character building, academics, and social activities. We measure success by not only developing the child’s knowledge of television and film production, but also by providing well-rounded enrichment to their educational experience which should be evident in their academic, social and family arenas. Teachers and school officials have noted a strong improvement in participant’s grades, character and confidence as a result of participating in our program.

Accomplishments:

The 2013-2014 scholars produced six television talk-show segments that were aired as 30-minute shows on the weekly Unity with Pam television show.

The 2014-2015 scholars produced four television talk-show segments that were aired as 30-minute shows on Unity with Pam. Interviewees included:

• Georgia State Representative John Pezold
• Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson
• Georgia State Representative Debbie Buckner
• Deb Wieland, showcasing the Girls Inc. Robotics program
• Local business and civic leaders

In addition, the 2014-2015 scholars developed a short film entitled “We’re a Team”. This was entered in the 2015 White House Student Film Festival and has been submitted by Wesley Heights Elementary School for the 2015 Muscogee County School District Partnership in Education award.

Studies show that most students who drop out, do so in about the ninth grade, thus engaging at-risk students before that is critical for their long-term success. This program targets children in late elementary school in one of the lower-performing school districts in the county. Parents and teachers have marked on the improvement in grades and confidence in those who have participated.

This program requires the children to improve their writing skills as they develop relevant questions and topics of conversation, it helps them improve their verbal communication skills as they practice their questions, and it helps them understand the mediums of television and film. In 2015, we brought the children to the state capitol to interview political leaders, thus helping them to study the legislative process as they interviewed elected officials in a general introductory format. We would like to expand the program to have the students interview both a wider range of civic leaders, such as those in the judicial system, but also to target the interviews more specifically. For instance, students could interview local and state elected officials on specific upcoming legislation and topics relevant to the local area. This would force the children to research the issues of the day, introduce them to the political events, and help them understand how the government works.

Contact Pam Hovey for more information at 706-325-6282.