A new public television station learning service that launched Monday provides instructional content to support the work of teachers and parents through universally available platforms.

WCMU Public Media joined Michigan’s other public television stations in launching the Michigan Learning Channel (MLC) on Monday, available statewide on a series of new dedicated broadcast channels. Developed in partnership with leading educators and community leaders, the network delivers instructional content and programming to students, parents and teachers. In the WCMU Public Media viewing area, MLC is broadcasted on channel 14.4 in Mount Pleasant, channel 6.4 in Alpena, channel 21.4 in Manistee, and channel 27.4 in Cadillac. (For people who receive WCMU with an antenna, rescanning of your television is required.) The Michigan Learning Channel is also available at MichiganLearning.org as a livestream as well as posted for on-demand viewing on a variety of digital and social media platforms, including cell phones and other mobile devices.

“This pandemic highlighted the need for an alternative to our current educational delivery model,” says WCMU Public Media General Manager Jim Rademaker. “The Michigan Learning Channel is just the first step in the evolution of the relationship between education and public television. We’ll continue to work with educators and parents to develop technologies to be inclusive of everyone across the state, as we know there is a gap that still needs to be addressed for students in rural areas.”

The Michigan Learning Channel seeks to ensure accessibility to all students, educators and families in the state. January’s programming schedule has been made available to teachers and school administrators to explore possible integration with lesson plans and can be viewed at MichiganLearning.org/schedule.

The Michigan Learning Channel provides curriculum-aligned instructional resources for students and teachers, beginning with Pre-K to 3rd grade programming Monday through Friday, focused on literacy, math and social-emotional learning, and quickly expanding to include grades 4 to 12. Much of this programming isproduced specifically for the MLC, with the guidance of Michigan education experts and delivered by Michigan educators, though some will come from nationally respected producers of instructional content.

Initial content available to Michigan families and educators beginning in January will include:

— Math Mights: Using a variety of strategies to make math fun and promote the understanding of math processes for K-3rd graders from SIS4Teachers, a Michigan-based company;

— Read with Me at Home: Literacy lessons produced by the Colorado Department of Education in collaboration with Rocky Mountain PBS, developed in response to school closures;

— Let’s Learn: Reading, math and science lessons for pre-K to 6th grade from WNET in New York;

— INPact at Home: Exercise breaks designed to motivate kids to get up from their keyboards and get moving, produced by Detroit Public TV and the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology;

— POPChecks: Short messages encouraging students to Pause, Own their feelings and Practice centering themselves, produced for the MLC by Mindful Learning, under the direction of social-emotional learning expert Carla Philibert.

In addition to the initial Pre-K to 3rd grade schedule, supplemental content will be available at launch for grades 4-12. Evening and overnight programming also will be available for older students in grades 6-12. Weekends will feature a variety of programming from Michigan sources in social studies and science, as well as documentaries with educational resources.

Future plans for the Michigan Learning Channel include adding more Michigan teachers providing content for primary and secondary education and eventually adding adult educational content, developed in collaboration with unions, community colleges and universities. These programs would support the completion of college and career certification programs to help fill high-need positions in the workforce.

The Michigan Learning Channel concept has been endorsed by the Michigan Department of Education, the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association (MEMSPA), the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA), the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators (MASA) and the Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM).

“Developing a plan that meets the evolving needs of families and teachers along with a diverse cross-section of parents, concerned citizens, and leading people in the field of education has happened since day one,” Rademaker said.

He added that public television has a long history of “developing educational content in partnership with communities we serve.”