Regional Educational Television Network Inc

“RETN has no committees with authority to act on behalf of the governing body”

“Reviewed by the Executive Director, provided to Board of Directors after filing”

“Documented by Board of Directors”

“Available at the RETN offices upon request”

“Program Service Expenses 104,600, Grants and allocations 0, Revenue 0 Outreach and Website Outreach and Website RETN reaches out to schools and nonprofits with an educational mission to partner on creating content, events and activities for the local community of lifelong learners. This outreach includes sponsorship of events, media stories, open houses, film screenings, social media, newsletters, public presentations, and a significant website. Ongoing web site development with our partner VCAM at www.mediafactory.org has expanded all content sharing and contribution capacity within the community and integrated the internal workflow of the organization with the public presence online. It includes TV schedules, workshop and course registration, and an integration of content from RETN partners and notable educational initiatives both local and national.”

“Production and Collaboration - RETN cablecasts Channel 1094 on cable systems that includes Comcast in Williston, Comcast in Shelburne. On the Burlington Telecom System, RETN cablecasts in standard definition on Channel 16 and in high definition on Channel 216. In 2020, RETN aired 168 hours of programming per week on each of the four channels and produced more than 200 local programs with 6 full-time staff, 11 as need part-time employees, 7 volunteers, 15 community organizational partners, 2 colleges, 1 university, and 36 k-12 schools in 5 school districts. Among these programs, RETN worked with a variety of community members - educational, non-profit and commercial businesses - to produce programs including information sessions in schools and public libraries, concerts by the Vermont Youth Orchestra, community presentations, the Special Olympics Penguin Plunge, the State Board of Education monthly meeting with the Vermont Agency of Education, and local school board meetings. The COVID-19 health emergency hit in March 2020 and moved much of our production into the virtual realm. Our production and content teams provided hours of direct technical support to our school district and non-profit partners to adapt their public meetings and presentations to Zoom and other online meeting tools.”

“Community Education - RETN continues to expand educational programs providing students, teachers and other community members training in the skills of video production, storytelling, audio production and distribution of content. In 2020 we moved all course offerings online to enable community members to access our educational workshops safely during the pandemic. We also created a new workshop series called Work With What You Got that provided training and tools to create community video content with equipment they had at home, like cell phones and iPads. We also worked with community media centers across Vermont on a collaborative summer movie project called CrowdSourced Cast Away https//www.mediafactory.org/crowdsourcedvt The project provided video training, gear, and support to 36 teams of Vermonters as they reproduced scenes from the famous film.”

“Educational Access Programming - RETN is a community media organization operating the educational access and arts channels on four cable television systems in northwestern Vermont. RETN provides the opportunity for schools, other education organizations and community scholars to acquire, produce and cablecast educational programs, arts and cultural events, learning events and educational policy coverage for the public via the cable systems on Channels 16, 216 and 1094. RETN operates and maintains video production, post-production, cablecast, and web-based facilities designated for use by community producers representing the schools and the broader educational community. RETN also provides teacher, student and community training and presentations pertaining to the educational use of telecommunications, video and other technologies. With partner VCAM, RETN also lends equipment to the public for the production of TV content. . In 2020 RETN complied with State of Vermont shutdown orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic and this reduced facility usage numbers. Following state guidelines, we gradually reopened our facility to the public and provided curbside equipment pick up and drop off, as well as limited studio and editing space reservations.”

“64,360 PPP Loan forgiveness”