[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 3, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S314-S315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        RECOGNIZING ARKANSAS PBS

 Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate 
Arkansas Public Broadcasting Service, PBS, for its tremendous work to 
provide educational resources throughout the COVID-19 health crisis.
  Arkansas PBS was recently recognized with five national Public Media 
Awards from the National Education Telecommunications Association, 
NETA, including honors for overall excellence for the programing it 
provided to children, parents, and teachers through Arkansas AMI, 
Alternative Methods of Instructions.
  As the COVID-19 emergency progressed in March 2020, Arkansas PBS 
upended its weekday schedule and began broadcasting streamlined, 
curriculum-based programming for children from Pre-K through eighth 
grade.
  When schools first closed in Arkansas, educators were immediately 
challenged by the lack of internet access in many rural areas of the 
State. This made the Arkansas AMI project even more important. For many 
without

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computers at home, the programming provided by Arkansas PBS became 
their classroom.
  I am proud of the partnership between Arkansas PBS and the Arkansas 
Department of Education, which offered students a way to keep learning 
when they couldn't be at school. This effort was possible because of a 
longstanding relationship between the broadcast network and education 
officials who have worked together for many years. With a strong 
foundation in place, they were quickly and creatively able to pivot and 
provide classroom learning on a network of stations that reached 76 
percent of the State with a simple over-the-air signal. The programming 
was also available on cable and satellite, live-streaming, on-demand, 
and various apps that families could access on mobile devices.
  I am proud of these devoted Arkansans who rose to meet an incredible 
challenge, and I am grateful for the work they do every day to make 
education in our State a priority. This recognition from the NETA is a 
testament to its commitment to offering quality educational, 
informative, and entertaining content that benefits the people of 
Arkansas. We appreciate the hard-working staff of Arkansas PBS and 
celebrate their accomplishments which reflect so well on the 
organization and its service to our State.

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