Article by Kathy Dunker with photo by Chris Cooke

It’s 7:15 a.m. on a school day, and the technology lab at Rocky Heights Middle School (RHMS) is buzzing with activity! Seventh and eighth graders make their way in to prepare to deliver the Nighthawk News to their fellow classmates.

The Nighthawk News is a daily show that is produced, directed, and performed live each morning by a class of 34 students. These students use professional software to create a live streaming broadcast that features school announcements and short films.

Nighthawk News has been referred to as the best video production program for a public middle school in the entire country by experts in the field such as Kurt Williamson, vice president of learning environments for Creative Learning Systems.

The Nighthawk News began as a film club five years ago. Over time, the equipment has improved and the club has evolved into a class, thanks to parent fundraising and administrative support. The class is filled with seventh and eighth graders and is run by Chris Cooke and Scott Melanson, the two technical education instructors at RHMS.

According to Melanson, the goal of the Nighthawk News is to make the school announcements more interesting, and to develop school pride by featuring teacher profiles, and promoting school events.

An eighth grade student who is now in her third year as a Nighthawk News member noted, “Being on Nighthawk News has been one of the best decisions that I have made in middle school. The class has made me more outgoing and has taught me so many great skills that I will use the rest of my life.”

The kids in the class learn teamwork, time management, public speaking skills, and self-direction. They also mentor one another, write, plan, and direct both live broadcasts and short films in preparation for the move into the high school video production program.

In addition to the creation of a daily show, the Nighthawk News class participates in film festivals each semester. Under the leadership of Cooke and Melanson, the class has won several school film festival competitions throughout the state during the years. RHMS also hosts its own film festival in which it challenges the kids to create a short film consisting of certain film elements all within seven hours.

It is fun for the kids and for the parents who are able to watch all of the creative films at the end of the day. According to Cooke, “It is the kind of event that really showcases the kids’ hard work and makes you forget that the students creating these amazing films are seventh and eighth graders!”

The technology lab at RHMS is home to the Nighthawk News, and is recognized throughout the country as being exceptional. It has been the site for two national educational technology conventions and has also served as a model for numerous school tech labs in Colorado and throughout the United States.

Cooke and Melanson have the goal of expanding the lab so that they can accommodate more students and give more kids the opportunity to be creative while they learn these valuable, life-long skills.