More Than Great Radio and Television

WHYY is moving from what it has been-a specialist in broadcast services-to what it will be-a 21st-century telecommunications agency. The centerpieces of WHYY's new services remain its public radio and television schedules, but added will be new efforts aimed at educating children and adults using new and existing media. Current WHYY educational projects that point the way to our telecommunications future include distance learning, Mathline, and Sky Talk in the Schools, as well as educational projects with the Strawberry Mansion School Cluster, The Edison High School/Fareira Skills Center, and the Foundation for Architecture.

One of our brightest projects is WHYY's Ready to Learn (RTL) service, which brings together hundreds of daycare providers and gives them tools to help prepare children to enter school "ready to learn." Headed by Sam Lemon, RTL is based on three "P"s: television Programs, Publications and Partnerships. Since it began its active community partnerships one year ago, WHYY's RTL service has passed some impressive milestones. Here are a few of them:

• More than 10 hours of WHYY's daily broadcast schedule are now devoted to broadcasting educational programs for children.

• 600 caregivers participated in 30 Ready to Learn workshops in the greater Philadelphia region, southern New Jersey and Delaware.

• Each RTL workshop attendee received $25 worth of educational materials to use in daycare settings or at home, thanks to generous contributions from CoreStates, Arco Chemical Co., Henkel Corp., MBNA America Bank, N.A, WHYY members.

• 12,000 to 15,000 children benefited from the skills the caregivers obtained by attending WHYY's training workshops.

• RTL service qualifies as credit for daycare licensing requirements by state authorities.

• 11,500 copies of WHYY's Ready to Learn Family News newsletters are distributed free to daycare providers, teachers, families and community agencies five times a year.

• Circulation of WHYY's Ready to Learn Family News has increased by 15% in one year.

• 66 community sites-schools, libraries, museums, daycare centers, hospitals, community centers and social service agencies-receive bulk shipments of WHYY's Ready to Learn Family News.

• In response to viewer requests, 1,200 copies of WHYY's Ready to Learn Family News are mailed directly to families.

• Applause, WHYY's monthly program guide, with a circulation of 140,000, has a page dedicated to WHYY's RTL service.

• WHYY's Ready to Learn administrator, Sam Lemon, was elected to RTL's National Public Television Station Advisory Council, administered by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Washington, D.C.

For today's public broadcaster, tomorrow brings a bright opportunity for widened service.

This month's RTL page.
WHYY's Home Page