The Guam Department of Education (GDOE), in collaboration with the Public Broadcast System Guam (PBS Guam), is excited to announce the launch of a televised at-home learning resource known as PBS University for students this month. This new resource will complement weekly online lesson plans that are available at the GDOE Home Learning Resources website, and the “Grab and Learn” packet distributions at schools which began earlier this month.
PBS University will provide students with televised instruction in subject areas such as literacy, mathematics, and character development. The program was made possible through a partnership between PBS Guam and the GDOE Division of Curriculum and Instruction. GDOE and PBS Guam collaborated with public school teachers to create lessons that students will be able to easily follow, with the aim of helping students to continue their learning at home. Parents and students are encouraged to tune into the PBS University programming which will launch on Monday, April 20, 2020 on KGTF channel 12.
“We would like to thank PBS for reaching out to us with this opportunity to reach and impact our students during these uncertain times,” said GDOE Superintendent Jon Fernandez. “We want to use this unique platform to promote student learning with instruction that is presented in a fun and exciting way with familiar faces.”
“The lessons are compact but informative,” GDOE Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Joe Sanchez said. “They are intended to provide both parents and students with a unique educational experience that they would not usually be able to experience together. It is a family effort and we encourage all to take advantage of these episodes to continue the learning process at home.”
“PBS Guam recognizes the importance of having as many educational tools in the home while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the onset of the COVID19 pandemic, PBS Guam has worked hard to gather its resources and present them to our community,” PBS Guam General Manager Ina Carillo said. “With the launch of our second channel PBS Kids 24/7 and PBS LearningMedia in the past few weeks, this partnership to produce PBS University with Superintendent Fernandez and GDOE, is the perfect fit.”
The PBS University broadcasts will mirror weekly lessons found on the GDOE Home Learning Resources website. The broadcasts will continue throughout the duration of the school year and into summer. Episodes for content will air on Mondays and Tuesdays with repeats throughout the week. The tentative schedule is as follows, beginning on Monday, April 20, 2020:
Students and families may access the GDOE Home Learning Resource website by visiting http://sites.google.com/gdoe.net/lessons-and-tips or through the GDOE main page at www.gdoe.net. The website will also include links to the episodes that have been aired. All videos will be available to view on the GDOE and the PBS Guam YouTube channels in the future. For more information regarding the PBS University, please contact Ernest Ochoco at [email protected] or Frank Candaso at [email protected].