KIRKLAND, Washington—If it's Friday morning, you can expect students at Ben Franklin Elementary School to be on the alert. This is the time when their own faces might fill video screens schoolwide. It's time for another weekly installment of "Kids First News."

The weekly news show, networked into the classrooms once a week, features students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. Gifted students in third and fourth grades launched the show, but it's been expanded so that the entire school now participates.

Teacher Jackie Mutcheson says the show reports events taking place "around Ben Franklin School, the community, the state, the nation, and worldwide." The crew changes weekly, but typically includes two anchors, one reporter, a weather person, a "geo-kid" who asks a geography question, a book talk host, and other announcers. "The kids have even started directing and filming the newscast," she says.

Mutcheson hopes to build students' "knowledge, awareness, and mastery of video equipment, along with understanding and consciousness of other children, community, and the world around them." A number of other goals are met as well, as students learn to manage challenging projects, work together cooperatively, gain self-esteem, and share a sense of ownership and pride in their school.

Each broadcast is unique, the teacher notes. "Since the crew, director, and camera person change weekly, there is always something interesting and amusing happening on the set. The kids are learning each time they partake. We've had kids film and record without the record mode on and end up filming the part that should have been on pause. It's interesting to see the kids take control and know when to re-record a script, direct the cast to speak louder or to slow down, and to have them notice when it's a great shoot. The children are learning to laugh at themselves," she adds, "and appreciate their bloopers—of which we have many!"

Kirkland, a Seattle suburb, is home to both corporate headquarters and small businesses. The community emphasis is on "the arts, education, business development, natural resources, and quality of life," says Mutcheson. Ben Franklin School, with about 500 students, houses a Quest program for about 125 highly gifted children. In addition, special education students are mainstreamed in the classrooms. The school boasts strong parent participation and high academic achievement; last year's second graders had 100 percent achievement on the state reading assessment.

The school technology lab has 33 computers that are online and networked. All classrooms also have 6 to 10 computers.

Mutcheson has taught in a variety of settings, including Australia, and calls herself a "pet detective" who has "held koalas, kissed dolphins, ridden camels, and swum with manatees. I look forward to staying young at heart forever."