Live Oak goes 'live'

Live Oak Elementary School students recently discovered their voice – via campus television reports that took two years to fund, plan and produce.

“That was great,” Principal Lillian Perez said following a recent student broadcast, one of several PTA-funded programs that have come to fruition this year. “It’s just a nice way to reach the whole campus. We’re excited.”

It can be tough at times, Perez conceded, to cover all corners of the 18-year-old campus that boasts the highest number of elementary students in the Fallbrook primary school district.

In the past, the school would have to be divided by grade, campus location or other groupings to attend separate assemblies, student body candidate speeches or other activities.

Now, teachers simply need to find a TV remote control device and push a few buttons for weekly campus news, announcements and current events.

“It’ll be the whole school tuning in,” said Perez, a Fallbrook native who is winding down her first year as a principal of the 780-student campus. “It’s kind of an opportunity to bring us all together.”

By recently launching the $13,500 program, Live Oak became the first elementary campus in the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District to provide live student broadcasts. It follows the footsteps of the Potter Junior High, a 1,000-student school that has been broadcasting campus reports for about five years.

Live Oak PTA members began raising funds about two years ago for the school’s broadcast camera, computer, lights and other equipment. Campus officials were able to stretch the money by buying some equipment from another school district that was upgrading its gear.

Live Oak hope to soon buy “green screen” technology that will allow the student broadcasters – who seem to alternate giggles with deadpan deliveries – to pose in front of different settings.

Students participating in a recent broadcast gave reports on an award-winning essay and tips on how to study, get enough sleep, eat right and “get the wiggles out” before taking important tests.

They were coached by a pair of impromptu producers: Assistant Principal Stephenie Martinez and Steven Stillman, a sixth-grade teacher at Live Oak. Stillman fussed with the teleprompter and filtered out technological ghosts and glitches as Martinez focused on poise, polish and presentation.

“I want animation in your voices now,” she cajoled the student broadcasters. “Sit up nice and still. You’re newscasters today.”

The first broadcasts began as the children of several PTA members who helped raise money for the equipment prepare to move onto seventh grade.

“The people who were a driving force on this, this is their last year,” said Perez. A veteran teacher who served one year as an assistant principal, Perez took over Live Oak from Tom Rhine, who was tapped last year to run the district’s Iowa Street School.

Over the years, Live Oak has become a key community resource as its playing fields are often blanketed by youth and sports leagues and its auditorium is frequently filled by community groups and church services.

The school’s family feel goes beyond Perez’s native roots, a connection she shares with several other Live Oak instructors and staff. One of Perez’s two children, Alexa, attends third grade at Live Oak.

In April, the campus was dressed up for the PTA’s first annual Celebrate Creativity Art Show. The group raised money to hire a professional artist and teacher to introduce students to classic and contemporary styles and use a range of materials to produce their own works.

In early June, sixth-grade students at Live Oak will showcase their presentation skills on Portfolio Day. Community leaders are being asked to review students’ “real life skills” at being calm, confident and prepared for high school, college and career interviews.

“That’s why I’m here: the kids,” Perez said. “I really feel like I’ve inherited one of the best schools in town.”