ACPS TV Media production program teacher Vilma Zefran, standing second from left, poses with her students in the new control room of the broadcast studio Dec. 12, 2025, at Alexandria City High School.
Alexandria City High School celebrated a new chapter in student media and communications with the debut of its newly renovated television and broadcast studio, an investment that elevates hands-on learning and gives students real‑world experience in modern media production.
Unveiled Dec. 12, 2025, the transformed space reflects the school division’s commitment to career-connected education and to preparing students for postsecondary pathways in journalism, film, broadcasting and digital storytelling.
“This spectacular studio represents more than an enhanced makeover of an older facility,” said ACPS Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt. “It was a total transformation into a state-of-the-art studio with technology and software offering all of our Titan students the exciting experience of being on a set very similar to actual local regional and national TV networks.”
The impact of the new studio is immediately visible across campus. Morning announcements now carry a production quality that mirrors professional broadcasts, thanks to a purpose‑built environment that includes an anchor desk, a dedicated area for stand‑up reports, backlit signage, teleprompters, and high‑end cameras and lighting. Collectively, these upgrades allow students to practice directing, operating cameras, writing scripts, and producing segments using industry‑standard workflows.
At the heart of the studio is ACHS’s TV and Media Production class, where students plan, shoot, edit, and deliver content for schoolwide broadcasts. Producing a five‑minute video package can take an entire class period and involves collaboration across multiple roles, mirroring the pace and teamwork typical in professional newsrooms. Students cover feature stories around school life, capture athletic events on location, and explore the community, blending technical skill with storytelling.
For students like senior Laura Barry‑Lenger, the program has become a defining part of the high school experience. Speaking at the opening, she emphasized how the class provides opportunities to document everything from sports to local culture.
“The new studio is amazing,” Barry-Lenger said. “It’s a new studio with professional equipment and so much better to prepare us for careers in broadcasting.”
Beyond the classroom the studio is home to ACPS‑TV, the school division’s television station, which delivers school and division‑wide news, student‑produced content, public service announcements and coverage of community and School Board meetings. Distributed on cable and online, ACPS‑TV extends the reach of student work and reinforces the studio’s role as a civic and educational resource for Alexandria.
The renovation was funded through federal grant dollars included in Alexandria City Public Schools’ capital improvement budget.
“I feel like this program really set me up well in the technical aspects of filmmaking,” said 2025 program graduate Trudy Hardman, who is studying cinema at Virginia Commonwealth University. “It’s a great program and I am so glad I was able to be a part of it.”
News anchor Kory Simms gets instructions from a director in the ACPS broadcast studio Dec. 12, 2025, at Alexandria City High School.