NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (EYT) — Redbank Valley Middle School teacher Joe Harmon got a surprise two weeks ago when he was contacted by ABC News Nightline producers wanting to cover the school’s mock election.
The network developed a segment titled “How is the election being taught in American classrooms?” and made arrangements to film at Redbank Valley’s mock election set for Wednesday, October 26.
“It was a quick turnaround,” said Harmon, who teaches eighth grade civics. “I got a call from the network two weeks ago. They wanted to cover a ‘battleground’ state, and Pennsylvania is the perfect example of that.”
Harmon was contacted for the segment due to his position on the iCivics board. Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics is a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and encourage them to become active in the U.S. democracy.
Assigned to cover this year’s election, Nightline anchor Terry Moran and his two-person camera crew arrived at Redbank Valley High School early Wednesday morning. They filmed Harmon’s civics class before covering the election in the school’s auditorium as part of their “Inside the Final 30” election series.
“We look for stories either with candidates themselves…or we look for specific stories that we think tell us something about the country and this campaign,” said Moran in explaining how Redbank Valley High School was chosen for the news segment.
Mike Fricko and Pat Bundy’s broadcast journalism class also covered the mock election, interviewing various students and creating a promo to air throughout the school. Fricko said Clarion County Courthouse will distribute the promo to other local schools to teach them how mock elections operate.