DISTRICT 60 STUDENTS, STAFF DOCUMENT CASB CONVENTION

 

For the 82nd time, school board members, superintendents and administrators, and students from nearly 180 school districts from across the state converged at The Broadmoor for the annual convention of the Colorado Association of School Boards.

 

And once again, broadcasting students from Pueblo Centennial and Pueblo South high schools were tasked with visually chronicling the three-day gathering.

 

Through a five-year partnership with CASB, Pueblo School District 60 has documented the conference through interviews with attendees, keynote speakers and educational leaders, and “B roll” footage of the conferences many elements.

 

All aspects of the video production – lights, sound, camera, direction, interviews, editing – are handled by the broadcasting students, under the guidance of Donny Ruybal, D60’s Supervisor of Digital Communications.

 

Broadcast educators Jacob Lewis (Centennial Bulldog TV) and Lauren Montoya (South Colt Nation TV) were on hand to offer advice and direction as the day unfolded.

 

The final video product was revealed to the conference gallery on Saturday during the Opening General Session.

 

For their efforts, and in acknowledgement of the quality of it, the D60 production students were called to the stage, introduced by Dalton Sprouse, D60’s Director of Communications.

 

“I would like to thank all of you for allowing us to be here since 2019, to produce a highlight video for you,” Mr. Sprouse told the hundreds in attendance. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for our students. But most importantly, I want to thank our Superintendent, Charlotte Macaluso, and our Board of Education, for believing in us, and believing in our students: allowing these students the opportunity to come to this amazing Broadmoor resort and to work with all of you, who are truly doing the work that matters.”

 

The D60 production team arrived at the Broadmoor early Saturday and immediately began to document the activity. Interactions were designed to offer insight into what the attendees hoped to gain through participation in the breakout sessions, keynote speaker assemblies, and other events.

 

Divided into several production teams, the broadcast students spent all of Saturday gathering content, which was then shuttled back to the editing room, where Supervisor Ruybal and his student assistants began compiling the footage into an informative, coherent production.

 

In all, it was intense, focused work that demanded precision and the skill to operate in a high-pressure, real-world situation: precisely the reason Mr. Ruybal, Mr. Sprouse and Superintendent Macaluso have championed D60’s participation in the project.

 

“Over these past five years, we’ve continually tried to push the envelope, in order to bring something new and creative to the table for CASB,” Mr. Ruybal said. “This year, I feel all the years of experience allowed us to not only create the best product for CASB, but just as important, offer a great experience for our students.

 

“I’ve never been more impressed and satisfied with the output, and encouraged by the students’ spirit. To see them enjoying creating content in a deliberate manner for a client is very uplifting.”

 

From South, junior Malachi Vasquez posed questions to interviewees.

 

“I love this experience,” Malachi said. “The best part is seeing it all come together through teamwork.”

 

From Centennial, junior Isaiah Ortiz filled the same role.

 

“For me, the most exciting part is the fact that we get to meet people from all around Colorado, especially the rural areas,” he said. “It’s important to find out the things they are facing in their districts.”

 

The fact that D60 has become the official chronicler of this important gathering of education leaders speaks volumes about CASB’s confidence in the skills and work ethic of the student content creators.

 

“It’s an honor to be able to represent Pueblo to our state in the communications realm,” Mr. Ruybal added.

“There’s a lot of other schools that may have more resources or experience within their teachers and students.

But every year, our students come from Pueblo and deliver high-caliber video communications for a great cause that ultimately helps promote education.”

 

In addition to the video element, members of the D60 Communication Team used CASB’s Facebook and Twitter accounts to post real-time stories and photo galleries, thereby increasing the informational reach in line with the theme of this year’s convention: “Portraits of Success: Why Our Stories Matter.”

 

“I am very pleased that this year, we were able to produce a full integrated marketing campaign that will help promote CASB,” Mr. Sprouse said. “This year’s theme was centered around telling your own story, and we are very proud to show exactly what we do in Pueblo on a daily basis.

 

“It’s our hope that when people leave this conference, they know that Pueblo, Colorado and School District 60 is leading the way in communicating and telling our own story. We are driving our own narrative.

 

Jonah Parker, Antonio Martinez, Cris Flores, Reyes Santoyo, Izaiah Fuentes, Malachi Vasquez, juniors

Rickidean Martinez, Nik Lopez, sophomores

Isabella Torres, Juliza Esparza, Michelle Buttram, Beija Lopez, Camryn Vigil, seniors

Bella Vigil, Shelby Gurule, sophomores