Downingtown East High School prides itself on being a school that is constantly changing and bettering itself. Between the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school year, a multitude of influential changes have occurred. Two of the more drastic renovations that took place were the installment of new technology in the TV Studio and the complete makeover that the choir room received. Both of these projects were approved last school year and were put into action over the summer of 2016.

For the TV Studio, run by Mr. Wes Robinson and a group of volunteer students, the upgrades included new cameras with the added benefit of teleprompters, a new soundboard, a new tricaster system, which controls the picture and sound displayed to teachers’ rooms, and an all new way of broadcasting through the Smartboard system that East utilizes, as opposed to the outdated TVs they used for so long.

“The upgrade in technology shows the school wants to move forward technologically and that is what will ultimately benefit the school,” said Michael Dickson (12). Dickson is the Director of TV Studio and has been a member of the organization since his freshman year. He learned how to do almost every job in the studio from running the soundboard to cueing an anchor behind a camera, but with this new technology he had to relearn all his skills. He did not seem overly upset though, realizing that the renovations will be useful for future TV Studio members.

“The new equipment is very useful because it helps to make the show run smoother and once we figure out how to master all of the equipment and make our shows accessible to the entire school, the program will be even better than it was while I was here,” said Dickson. He realizes that not all of the kinks have been worked out just yet, but knows that in the long run it will only be advantageous to have the new gadgets.

In the choir room, Mr. Speakman now has an entirely new floor plan. Where he used to have tiled floors that rose up to mimic the feeling of risers, he now has a flat carpeted floor with a real set of brand new risers for his students to sit on. He also now has the benefit of a surround-sound speaker system to play back his choir’s performances, as well as a state-of-the-art practice room built by the Wenger company called the SoundLok. This room allows students the ability to record themselves as they practice and store that recording on a flashdrive to playback for themselves later. Each of these upgrades are beneficial in their own respects and affect a sizeable portion of the student body.

“The new technology and layout has made singing in class much better because we can listen to each other better and blend with one another,” said Maddie Crowley (12). Maddie Crowley is the choir Vice President and a 4-year choir veteran who is pleased with the changes she sees in the choir organization.

“It will be extremely beneficial in the future because students will be able to record themselves and better their performance using technology to become more accurate with pitch, tempo, etc.,” Said Crowley. Just as Michael Dickson added, Crowley agrees that these new improvements will be most beneficial to the next generation of students and she hopes that they will take advantage of their new opportunities that the veteran members never had.
The recent enhancements to student education throughout the building has brought many new opportunities for the D-East community. Seniors and Freshmen alike are excited by the new opportunities arising and advancements being installed at DEHS. It is nice to know that Downingtown East High School is so dedicated to the improvement of their building and focusing on the needs of student life.