Starting last Monday, March 23, 2020, VIA Public Media changed its afternoon television schedule from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to air programs that provide learn-at-home opportunities for students and families.
Each program airing during this block will have curriculum and additional
resources that parents and educators can use for students in grades 4-12.
Prior to 1pm will continue to air PBS kids programming, which is
educationally minded for children pre-kindergarten through grade 3. All
resources can be found free of charge at wvia.org.
This schedule is designed to help school districts bridge the digital divide and provide access to learning for all students at home regardless of access to computers or the internet.
As an example, last Monday’s programming included the programs NOVA: Look Who’s Driving at 1 p.m., which investigates the self-driving car and its impact on society. Life from Above: Changing Planet at 2 p.m., which views the changing landscape of Earth from space. At 3 p.m. VIA will air Nature: Yosemite, which takes a deep look into how climate change is affecting the national park. The upcoming schedule and curriculum can be found at wvia.org with future weeks’ schedules and resources being posted to the website within the coming days.
“VIA aims to educate and inspire through quality programming and services; we
hope that this change can better serve the families and school districts
throughout Northeast Pennsylvania and the Central Susquehanna Valley,”
said Chris Norton, Senior Vice President of VIA Public Media.
“We want families to know that they are not alone during this time and that
time at home can be spent learning together,” said Kirsten Smith, Grants
& Education Officer at VIA Public Media. “From Nature and NOVA to
insightful documentaries, VIA and PBS have hundreds of hours of learning
opportunities for
students at all grade levels”.
WVIA-TV can be found on over-the-air antenna on channel 44 and on all major
network providers in Northeast Pennsylvania and the Central Susquehanna
Valley. WVIA carries PBS Kids programming all day on its second channel
44.2, corresponding educational resources for PBS Kids programming
can also be found at wvia.org.
