FCPS Wins 11 Telly Awards

Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) Teleproductions and Communications Design teams have captured 11 Telly Awards for 2005. The Telly Awards, similar to the Emmy awards, recognize exceptional nonbroadcast cable programming and are among the most sought-after awards in the television, commercial, and video industry. Top entries are named winners or finalists based on the number of points they score on a ten-point scale and are judged against a standard of excellence. FCPS has earned 38 Telly Awards since 2001.

The following project earned a Winner award:

• The “Dogwood-Lockheed Martin Partnership” video, produced by Jim Lepp , earned winner status in the Telly Awards, a first for FCPS productions. The video highlights the relationship between Dogwood Elementary School and its business partner, Lockheed Martin .

Finalist awards were given to the following projects:

• “ADHD Teens Collaborating for Success” (for video graphic design) was designed by Tina Utz . The video opening and internal graphics helped convey information on how teens cope with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
• “ America on the Move: Part 1–Migrations, Immigrations, and How We Got Here,” produced by Ted Brawner , was the result of a partnership between FCPS and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. The program uses a museum setting to focus on the impact of transportation on immigration and migration.
• “ America on the Move” Part 2–Creating Stories” (two awards–one for video graphics and one for set design). Design team Pamela Martin , Stephen Lee , and Maple Chou created d ynamic graphics and set design for this program, which highlighted the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History exhibit, America on the Move.
• “Good Thinking: Citizen Participation,” produced by Sandra Brennan, is the third program in the Good Thinking series, all of which have received Telly finalist awards. This show explores the importance of participation in the schools.
• “In Other Words,” produced by Robin Noonan-Price, is a public information series for viewers with limited English language skills. This episode was produced for Spanish speakers and featured news reports and a discussion of student activities.
• “Meet the Author: Lemony Snicket,” produced by Sandra Brennan , featured a lively and unusual interview with Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket), author of the bestselling Series of Unfortunate Events books.
• “The New Equation: Academics + Technology = Future Leaders,” produced by Tracey Jewell for the 2004 Governor’s State of Education event, highlights the importance of technology in education.
• “SchoolScene,” produced by Jeff Clark , is the school system’s biweekly news and information program. This is the third Telly for the SchoolScene series.
• “TV That Counts” interstitials, produced by Margaret Kivlen , include video graphic animations that promote the “TV That Counts” theme between programs.

The programs were produced by the FCPS Department of Information Technology in cooperation with the Office of Community Relations, the Instructional Services Department, and the Department of Special Services. Most of the funding for FCPS programming and production, as well as use of cable television channels, comes to FCPS through a franchise agreement with Cox Communications. Many of the winning programs will be rebroadcast over the summer; watch the Fine Tuning program guide for dates and times.

Founded in 1980, the Telly Awards represent a highly respected competition founded to showcase and give recognition to outstanding nonnetwork and cable commercials; the awards program was expanded a few years ago to include film and video productions. Winners and finalists are from a cross section of agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operations, and corporate video departments, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Home Depot, Qualcomm, Inc., MSNBC, and Nike Inc. Producers of the winning spots receive statuettes and certificates.

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Note: For more information, contact Donna Franklin, manager, Teleproductions Services, Department of Information Technology, at 703-503-7520.

Last update: March 1, 2005
Curator: Therese Payne, therese.payne@fcps.edu