by sabrinaBates
When people hear “PBS,” images of Curious George, Super WHY, Daniel the Tiger and Sesame Street come to mind. While free, television programming is a large portion of what Public Broadcasting Stations provide to their communities, education and community engagements are some of the most impactful aspects of PBS.
Locally, West TN PBS offers all of the above-mentioned benefits to 18 counties across the rural west Tennessee region. West TN PBS is also affectionately known as “WLJT” or “Channel 11.”
“I want our communities to know that I am here. I look at where I can help the most and where I am needed,” West TN PBS Manager of Education and Community Engagement Jennifer Medford said. Medford is a former educator and McKenzie resident. It only took a few minutes in her office, decorated in PBS KIDS’ merch, to realize how much energy and passion she brings to the position. Both are a necessity when working with community members who are young, young at heart and everyone in between.
Medford’s role at West TN PBS encompasses weekly newsletters for educators, visits to schools and head start locations, hands-on activities to families, character visits to local libraries and applying for grants relevant to local communities.
“I love the uniqueness of each of our counties. Most everything we do is partnership-oriented. Our partners are engaged in what’s going on and try to have a presence with our events,” Medford shared.
When COVID-19 impacted the region in 2020, much of the community engagement moved to a virtual presence. With the pandemic easing, Medford is full-speed ahead with projects throughout West TN PBS’ coverage area.
In Carroll County, Medford’s department has a partnership with the special school districts, Carroll County 4H, prevention coalition, health council, Carroll County Library and Bethel University.
In 2020, the Cat in the Hat made a visit to the library in Huntingdon for a drive-through event, which allowed families to interact with the Dr. Seuss character. As part of the annual Summer Library Tour sponsored by the local PBS station, Medford seeks out a PBS KIDS character that is representative of the Summer Reading Program’s theme and carries the costumed character to various libraries, offering meet and greets and book donations.
Nature Cat was the special guest during the Summer Library Tour in 2021. More recently, Splash from the PBS KIDS show “Splash and Bubbles” was a fan favorite during the “Oceans of Possibilities” Summer Tour last year.
Showcasing characters is a fraction of the engagement events Medford and the team at West TN PBS offer for communities. She also engages with classrooms and coordinates STEM and STEAM, hands-on events throughout the school year. Most recently, Medford hosted a STEM Night at McKenzie Elementary School, where children were able to create their own mixtures to design and build their own boats. This was through a partnership with Bethel University’s Dr. Andrew Evans.
Pre-K through 5th-graders at Clarksburg Elementary spent a day of STEM learning in December 2022. The West TN PBS mascot, Rocky T, also visited Clarksburg students awarded for good behavior that month.
Each December, Medford pays a visit to head start locations in West Tennessee letting younger children meet a PBS KIDS character. Last year, Elinor, the curious rabbit from “Elinor Wonders Why,” greeted head start students and families in Huntingdon.
Medford’s engagement also includes working with educators. The PBS stations in Tennessee have a partnership with the state’s Department of Education, which includes helping create free lesson plans using PBS programming for teachers. In addition, Medford incentivizes self-paced, online training for educators through monthly gift-card drawings. The educators in her market area who take advantage of the self-paced programs earn a certificate as well as a chance to win local gift cards. For educators who haven’t had a chance to use PBS Learning Media, Medford can get them set up for access to thousands of free lesson plans that are timely and linked to a range of PBS programs. Subjects include history, engineering, math, social studies, English, STEM activities and everything in between.
In addition to hands-on activities, lesson plans and character tours, Medford also works with organizations and agencies such as the Salvation Army, health departments, Scouts, community centers and Boys and Girls Clubs.
A major, annual event sponsored by West TN PBS is underway. The local station opened entries for the annual Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, which is a free-to-enter contest for children in grades kindergarten through fifth. Children are asked to create their own illustrated book for a chance to win a prize package and the opportunity to be filmed reading their books for use on the station’s channels and website. Entries must be postmarked by March 27.
The annual contest is a popular one at local schools as teachers have historically used it as a classroom project. Medford believes the educators who dedicate time to promote the contest are just as important as the students who submit their stories. The education and community manager offers prizes in the form of local gift cards for teachers who have the most entries. She is seeking more gift card sponsors from businesses across West Tennessee. Anyone interested in donating to the effort can contact Medford at 731-881-7561 or by email at [email protected]. In the history of the contest, winners have spanned from Dyersburg to Brownsville to Camden and everywhere in between.
Sponsors for any of the outreach activities offered by the local PBS station are always welcome and encouraged.
Medford said she is excited about a recent partnership with Delta Dental that engages school-age children on healthy habits, but is also an opportunity to tackle a rural challenge across the state. That challenge is the lack of available dentists in rural areas. A goal of the project is to peak students’ interest in the field of dentistry.
One of Medford’s partner schools includes Carroll County’s Career and Technical Center in Huntingdon. Last spring, Medford provided a hands-on “Blood Splatter STEM” event with criminal justice students. She described it as one of her most-favorite events. Medford was also a participant in the school’s Career Day last year.
Organizations, schools, educators and agencies interested in becoming a partner with or learning what resources are available to them, are encouraged to contact Medford.
Every household in Carroll County has access to the West TN PBS channels. To learn more, view local programming time slots or donate to the station, visit westtnpbs.org.
