Canyons School District has been nominated for a Rocky Mountain Southwest Emmy in the instructional category for a video created as part of an awareness campaign on school safety.
The CSDtv-produced video, “Run, Hide, Fight,” is one of several created to explain the different safety protocols Canyons has in place to prevent, respond to, and recover from emergencies.
“Building a culture of safety in our schools is everyone’s responsibility, from students to parents to teachers, to bus drivers and staff, we work as a team to make sure all of our schools are as safe as possible,” said Canyons Superintendent Dr. Rick Robins in the introduction to the video, which explains the nationally accepted response to active threats, called “Run, Hide, Fight.”
Following the tragic 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Dr. Robins called for a review of how CSD schools handle emergencies. Since then, the District has been redoubling efforts to communicate with parents, students, and employees about security features, from the surveillance cameras and card-access entries in place at all CSD schools to the classroom supports that help ensure students feel safe from bullying and discrimination.
For example, as part of CSD’s ongoing effort to maintain safe, welcoming, and prepared schools, this year, all elementary and middle schools in Canyons are using character-education program called Thrive Time, which was developed by CSD experts and vetted by Canyons parents
Schools are still remarkably safe, and the goal with the “Run, Hide, Fight” explainer was not to alarm families and employees, but to prepare them to safeguard themselves until help arrives in the rare event that they encounter an armed intruder on or off campus, said Canyons Communications Associate Director Kirsten Stewart. “We wanted this to be informative and empowering without causing trauma for our employees, students, and their families.”
With that in mind, Communications Director Jeff Haney said careful planning went into capturing the footage needed to illustrate the protocols. “Our CSDtv producer Justin Andersen worked hard to visually represent the recommended actions and set the right tone,” Haney said.
More than a District-sponsored broadcasting platform, CSDtv is an educational program. “We are still in the planning phases, but our goal with CSDtv is to give students hands-on experience in the broadcast field,” said Andersen, CSD’s Broadast Team Lead. “Through our Student Broadcasting Program we will be training students to produce and edit much of the programming we will be running on our streaming service. Whether students want to be behind or in front of the camera, or working behind the scenes to edit and produce a livestreamed sports event, documentary or TV-style newscast, we’ll be providing them the opportunities to learn those skills.”
CSDtv’s Emmy nomination was announced by officials from the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The awards honor excellence in television news, programming, and individual achievement in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Southeastern California.
Rocky Mountain Emmy judging is done by TV industry professionals with expertise in each category who evaluate each entry in areas of content, creativity, and execution.
Winners will be announced at the 46th Annual Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, at Chateau Luxe in Phoenix, Ariz.
The full list of nominees can be found online.
CSD’s safety videos can be found at canyonsdistrict.org/safeschools.
