Award-Winning After School Video Production Class to be Eliminated

The Shoreline School District is moving an award-winning after-school video production class, which produces live events, to the regular school day after a review found that the way it was operating violated the state administrative code.

 The class for Shorewood and Shorecrest students was held on Mondays after school, and students picked up credits for working on live broadcasts of sporting events, school plays and other events.

 However, the awarding of credits for an after-school program isn't legal, according to the Washington Administrative Code, and does not meet definitions of seat time,  said Gene Wachtel, director of career and technical education for the district.

“That particular class did not meet career and technical education funding requirements and did not meet seat time (requirements) for high school credit,” Wachtel said. “It hasn’t been meeting the requirements. It was caught this year and being reviewed this year.”

The extra time cost the district about $30,000 to pay Trent Mitchell and Marty Ballew, the two teachers who run the program, and that’s an issue with the district losing about $7 million in revenue next year.

“We had to put the class back in the regular schedule,” Wachtel said. “All after-school activities will continue to be options.”

Teachers Mitchell, of Shorecrest, and Ballew, of Shorewood, however, believe it will not be possible for them to successfully operate a program that professionals have said is the best live video production program in the state.

 “Our class was producing events for the community live and kids were getting credit for that,” Mitchell said.

 “It makes the point of the class irrelevant,” Mitchell said of operating during the school day. 

“We could not come up with enough activities during the day of a regular school week for kids to get that real-time video production learning,” he said.

For students, not being able to produce live school events “would be like being on the basketball team but not being able to play any games,” Mitchell said.

 “It’s not what we’ve been doing or what people have come to expect,” he said.

 Sophomore Surafel Mamo said he would miss the live video production class if it ends. Students in the class created trailers for "The Social Experiment," which prompted students to turn off personal technology for a week and grabbed headlines and national television's attention.

 “The class is exceptional for every student who wants to learn how TV works,” he said. “I hope to pursue this for my future. It opens your doorway to more successes.”

The district recently purchased $50,000 in new equipment for the program, which “would sit idle,” without live events, Mitchell said.

Wachtel said Mitchell and Ballew still could negotiate to get paid for after school time and do live events.

 “They will have to negotiate for that but it’s a possibility,” Wachtel said. “Nothing’s off the table.”

While Wachtel’s predecessor allowed students to get credit for hours they worked, he said the law does not allow for that.

“I don’t want to see it end at all,” he said. “We’re trying to fix things and make things legal for everyone.”