As the station makes the conversion to digital technology, there will be increased opportunities to provide specific services to the education community. According to General Manager, Sandra Session-Robertson, “This position helps us fulfill our goal to be more supportive of K-20 formal education. As a station based at a community college, we see that this commitment helps us leverage the strong reputation that PBS already has in the classroom.” Session-Robertson’s statement is backed up by the results of a recent independent, nationwide survey conducted by Grunwald Associates of 1,200 educators. PBS was named as the number one source of video in the classroom.

Chalanick has been involved in education in one form or another for over twenty years. Along with having worked as a substitute teacher in both New York and Maryland and an adjunct instructor at Salisbury University in Maryland, Chalanick also has a background in educational television. He worked for over eleven years in the education department at a PBS station in Falls Church, VA, and then became the Executive Director for a collaborative distance learning network between Salisbury University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Wor-Wic Community College.

Chalanick sees numerous opportunities to create linkages between the education community and WCEU. Chalanick states, “With WCEU’s coverage of nine counties all with educational institutions, I believe we can become an important regional resource for them. I look forward to sitting down with them and exploring the possibilities.” Chalanick also sees a great benefit in WCEU’s decision to dedicate one of its new digital channels to education. “Most people know that we have our origins in educational television, but WCEU’s association with Daytona Beach Community College will translate to benefits and services for the education community like no one else in the region can provide.”

Some of the educational outreach projects WCEU is known for include The Florida Quest, a multimedia local history project created in partnership with The Daytona Beach News-Journal and distributed to students in grades third through eighth in Volusia and Flagler Counties. Funded, in part, by a grant from the Florida Department of Historic Preservation, the project is now in its 13th year in operation. Participating students each get a 64+ page booklet filled with local history facts and are challenged to use critical thinking skills to learn about history in the two-county area.

Another project, Family Back Pack night at Eastbrook Elementary School in Winter Park gave students, teachers and parents a chance to experience together the literary value of the nationally-acclaimed PBS series, Reading Rainbow.

WCEU is a service of Daytona Beach Community College and a PBS affiliate. For more information, contact Camri McCormick at (386) 506-3359.