Arcadia High journalism students keeping school community connected, informed online

ARCADIA, Calif. (KABC) -- With millions of students dealing with class disruptions, a journalism class at Arcadia High School took matters into their own hands.

Through Apache News, they are determined to provide information and comfort during this difficult time with online local stories hosted from the students' living rooms.

"Friday the school got canceled. Thankfully, we found out before school ended, so I pretty much grabbed everything that wasn't attached to the classroom - sent the students home with all of that stuff," Frank Sunez, a school advisor for Arcadia High School's Apache News said.

Sunez created teams and kits for the students. Soon after, the students all joined online. The students knew what needed to be covered, beginning with those most affected by the coronavirus pandemic in their school community.

"I think of class not as a class, but more like a job because we are kind of doing anything that a news program might do," Kyle Joo, a student producer for Arcadia High School's Apache News, said. "We're still getting information, we're still putting information out there for the students, teachers and any parents."

"In our weekly news shows we're not just providing information on COVID-19, we're also trying to find ways to help our audience get through this," Andrew Liu, an anchor/producer for Arcadia High School's Apache News, said. "Apache News is that symbol of continuity, we believe that it is our obligation to keep the shows going on."

The students believe through teamwork their school news show will go on.