Students pitch districtwide promotional video; board and staff offer support
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Summary
Two PTHS juniors asked the Pequannock Township School District board for help collecting video clips for a district promotional video; the superintendent and several board members offered support and suggested principals and newsletters help gather footage.
Two juniors at Pequannock Township High School asked the board of education on June 9 to help gather video clips for a districtwide promotional video, and district leaders agreed to assist.
Sofia Terese and Bella Carucci told the board they are producing a promotional video that will show “what it’s like to go through Pequannock schools” and asked parents, staff and PTO members to submit short clips to a shared Google Drive the students will edit. Superintendent Dr. David Portis described the student-initiated plan as “unmistakably awesome” and said he supports the project.
The students said clips should be no longer than 30 seconds, recorded horizontally, and that principals will be asked to provide short scripted voiceovers. Marketing teacher Mr. Hoenig was identified in the presentation as supporting the students’ work.
Board members suggested practical steps to increase participation. Board member Esposito asked principals to include a blurb in school newsletters; another board member suggested using district social media and media partners to promote the request. Dr. Portis and other administrators asked for an email address or Google account to serve as the repository and offered to draft newsletter copy the students could use.
No formal board vote or policy change was proposed; the meeting record shows direction from the superintendent and board members to assist the students with communications and to work with building principals on logistics. Dr. Portis said staff would check the “do not record” lists at each school before production and that the district would provide guidance to ensure student privacy and compliance with school rules.
Next steps described by the students included finalizing scripts and principal contributions by the end of the 2025 school year and collecting additional footage in September–October 2025 for a planned release after editing. Board members and administrators asked the students to provide the repository address and a short newsletter blurb for distribution.
