12
La Grande Pride
September 2019 • www.lagrandesd.org
COMING THIS YEAR
LHS-operated TV streaming service
By Trish Yerges
Superintendent George
Mendoza and La Grande
High School Principal Brett
Baxter have announced
an expansion of the high
school’s current Multi-
media class to include the
district’s TV Sports stream-
ing of school games and
student-produced district
news starting this fall.
Baxter is one member
of the program team that
will assist in facilitating
this vision for the district.
Also joining him is Brent
Clapp of Brent Clapp Media
Services, athletic direc-
tor Darren Goodman and
LGSD programs director
Scott Carpenter.
Currently, the one-semes-
ter elective Multi-media
class, which is available to
sophomores, juniors and
seniors, introduces stu-
dents to a number of media
disciplines, including web
design, the operation of the
sports reader board in the
gym and how to produce
news programs, Baxter said.
However, this year, the cur-
riculum will also include
LHS broadcasting and
streaming.
“In the past, viewers
may have watched the LHS
Sports stream on La Grande
Alive TV, but this year in col-
laboration with LGA TV and
Brent Clapp, the LHS Sports
stream will offi cially be LHS
operated and student run,”
Clapp said.
Another change this year
involves increasing the LHS
Sports stream to include
football, volleyball, boys’
basketball and girls’ bas-
ketball games with hopes
of including other sports
progressively in the future.
“The stream will web-
cast home and away league
games and selected tourna-
ment games for all of these
sports,” Clapp said.
Streaming is a nice
feature for people who can’t
be present to see the game.
Still, whenever possible,
attendance at the games is
strongly encouraged as a
support to the athletes.
“We want all of La
Grande to be able to see as
many games as possible,”
Goodman said. “Obvi-
ously, we want people at the
games and in the stands,
but if they can’t be there,
then they can still keep an
eye on the games and watch
it this way.”
The transition to LHS-op-
erated sports streaming is
Superintendent Mendoza’s
vision to bring the district
in line with what other
school districts are already
doing.
“Lots of schools are us-
ing TV streaming services
to broadcast their district
news and sports,” said
Clapp.
The transition to a stu-
dent-operated broadcast
will be gradual, and there
will be a learning curve
this year. But by the 2020-
21 school year, the district
wants to have a career
technical education class
dedicated to broadcasting.
Until then, however, the
staff at Brent Clapp Media
Services will still be doing
a lot of the televising with
students looking over their
shoulders learning as they
go.
In the Multi-media class,
students will initially re-
ceive the technical advice of
LGA TV and guest trainer
Brent Clapp, who will train
them how to operate the
webcasting equipment.
Acquiring the necessary
equipment is another con-
sideration for the district.
“We’re about $8,000 into
acquiring the needed equip-
ment, and we have a little
bit more to go,” Carpenter
said.
Most of the equipment is
purchased, and the district
is starting to sell ads to pay
for the equipment and ser-
vices. So far three business-
es have decided to do com-
mercials with the district
on the sports stream. They
are in the early phases of
this, and Carpenter is cer-
tain it’s only going to grow
from here.
“For the streaming part
of this, we will be working
with Brett Clapp Media
Services, and KCMB is
actually donating the radio
stream. Kids will be able to
work to do that and be paid
by the district,” Carpenter
said.
The students will get
some real job skills and an
actual pay stub, and they
will get to work with the
current industry equipment.
“This is a big win for
LHS, its students and the
La Grande School District,”
Clapp said.