After School Video Production Class Celebrates the Completion of Inaugural Year

ATLANTA – People TV (Comcast channel 24 or 12 in Atlanta city limits) is proud to announce that this Friday, May 19, 2006 its youth media initiative, FUEL Media, will celebrate the completion of its inaugural year of video production outreach training at Charles R. Drew Charter School in Atlanta's East Lake community.

Drew students will share their final video project with the community this Friday, May 19, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. in the school cafetorium as a part of Drew Charter School's “After School Program's Spring Showcase.” The event is open to the public, and tickets are $2 per person. The school is located at 301 East Lake Boulevard , Atlanta , Ga. 30317.

Since September 2005, People TV staff and volunteers have traveled to Drew Charter School on a weekly basis to teach 6 th to 8 th -grade students enrolled in the After School program how to write, shoot, edit, and share original video projects created on their school campus. People TV received a grant from the Ronald M. Simon Foundation to lead this after school video production class at Drew.

“People TV has collaborated with Drew Charter School to build a unique extracurricular opportunity that has greatly benefited students in our After School Program,” said Lindsey James, Drew Charter School 's director of extended services. “In a school where technology and student excellence is highly valued, the involvement of People TV has been a natural fit.”

People TV's manager of community development and outreach trainer Antoine Haywood describes his students as “full of energy and eager to learn the fundamentals of creating digital media.” Antoine began producing media in junior high school which makes him all too familiar with the importance of “being exposed to a skill such as video production at an early age.”

The end-of-the-year final presentation entitled, The Life of Teens After School, features a variety of segments that include peer interviews, after school teacher highlights, humorous segues, public service announcements, and physical challenges, all of which are accompanied by an original soundtrack created with Apple's GarageBand digital music creation software.

FUEL Media is the youth initiative of People TV. The mission of this program is to empower young people to transform their community, the world, and themselves through media. FUEL Media, which stands for forging unity, equality, and leadership through media, provides various opportunities for individuals between the ages 12 – 25 to gain access to video technology that enables them to produce original content that is cablecast on People TV and shared throughout national youth media networks.

People TV, (Comcast channel 24 or 12 in Atlanta ) is a GA 501(c) 3, nonprofit organization established in 1986 as the City of Atlanta 's Public Access Center. Public access gives residents, nonprofits and community organizations a First Amendment forum to communicate services, programs, ideas, opinions and talents. People TV provides the citizens of Atlanta an equal opportunity to be involved in television production training, facilities, equipment and the cablecasting of over 100 hours of programming weekly. People TV is located at 190 14th Street NW in Atlanta , Georgia . For more information about People TV, visit www.peopletv.org or call (404) 873-6712.

Charles R. Drew Charter School – the city of Atlanta's first public charter school – offers a curriculum, enrichment and Before and After School programs that emphasize high academic achievement and character development for about 800 students in kindergarten to eighth grades. Technology is integrated throughout a curriculum that concentrates on excellence in reading, math, science and writing. Drew balances its focus on fundamental skills by including two enrichment classes every day ranging from visual and performing arts to physical education and Spanish. For more information, please visit www.drewcharterschool.org or call 404 687-0001.