Dallas, TX (October 14, 2008) – Seeking to inform students about the upcoming presidential election, Coppell High School (CHS) will hold a campus-wide mock election on October 27, 28, and 30th. This cross curriculum project is a collaborative effort initiated by social studies teacher, Valerie Garnier and includes the government, statistic, and media classes at CHS. “Many students are closely following the race, with some even being eligible to vote in November. We wanted to give students a chance at experiencing the entire process - registering to vote, looking at the issues (through the Internet sites on Blackboard), and giving them the opportunity to vote and participate in random exit polling. We hope this will generate their interest not only now but in future elections to come,” stated Mrs. Garnier on why she created this mock election.

In an effort to provide election coverage from a student perspective, KCBY-TV, the broadcast news program at Coppell High School, has been reporting on several political stories over the last year, including the Texas Democratic Debate and the McCain Rally in Tyler, Texas. Most recently held a student round-table discussion. Two passionate and informed students were chosen to represent each presidential candidate’s views. Bethanie Livernois and Robert Camczuk represented Barak Obama’s political platform, while Katherine Moyzinsky and Jason Brady represented John McCain’s viewpoint. The students tackled questions from the economy to health care and education to the war in Iraq. KCBY members Chris Rajan, Sebastian Mancera, and Hannah Gill filmed this event, and Jessica Campbell produced and acted as moderator. KCBY will air the round-table on the week of October 24th, in order to inform the students about the various issues that could potentially affect them in years to come. KCBY will also be interviewing students after the mock election and reporting on exit poll conducted by the government classes.

KCBY airs a weekly 20 minute show for 6000 students and teachers at Coppell High School and all three middle schools. Students inform and entertain by producing segments about events and issues that occur in the area. Last year, KCBY launched a sister show called KCBY Español. The biweekly show produces segments in Spanish, providing Spanish speakers with training for careers in Spanish language media, while serving as an educational tool for the Spanish classes.