For tech-savvy teens, the Web is the natural medium to build community. As part of a variety of educational resources that presenting station Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minnesota, produced, the American High companion Web site gave fans a virtual "backstage pass" to learn more about the kids in the series. The site was a breakout hit on PBS.org, driving the Web site's traffic to a record high. Tens of thousands of comments were posted on the site's message board throughout the months that the series was broadcast, providing a forum for reaction and response for both teens and adults.
   Using a Web design toolkit developed by PBS.org to localize the content on the national Web site, public television stations across the country, from Detroit Public Television to West Virginia Public Television offered teens access to a local online com-munity, built just for them. And they responded. Traffic was high on Nebraska Educational Telecommunications' companion site, which was linked to school Web sites across the state and became a popular portal. Dubbed "Nebraska High," the Web site incorporated streaming video vignettes shot at six high schools throughout the state; a Teen Community Guide to favorite meeting places; reviews of movies, music and restaurants; and an online "community yearbook," which allowed Nebraska teens to upload photo essays, poetry, song lyrics and personal statements. "Nebraska Educational Telecommunications has had a long association with students in the state through its coverage of high school sporting events. However, the NET 'Nebraska High' Web site marked the first time we had directly reached out to the students on a personal level," says Terry Dugas, operations manager for NET's Interactive Media Group.
   Because teens form insular groups with their peers, it is all too easy for adults not to hear their voices or understand their views. Using American High, stations were able to break through this barrier. In Houston, Texas, the public television station created a contest based on the title of the series' second episode to give high school students the opportunity to reflect on "Who Am I?" and what it means to be a teen. "We reached out to 150 public and private schools to promote the contest," says Sydney Holland of HoustonPBS, "and we received almost 300 entries in the five categories of art, essay, lyrics/poetry, photography and video. Some of the entries were just astounding." HoustonPBS interviewed the winning students about the ideas and attitudes that inspired their art on its local program Weekday and showcased the winners in its monthly program guide.

   More than a dozen stations gave teens in their community a voice by inviting them to tape short video segments for broadcast on air preceding the series premiere. After providing kids in several Kansas high schools with video cameras to shoot "a day in their life," KPTS in Wichita broadcast local video diaries of adolescent life from Conway Springs High School to Northeast Magnet High School. At Inman High School, students became so interested in the video project that they decided to skip a spring school play in favor of producing their own "reality series" on campus life.
   "If you want us to talk to you, all you have to do is sit down and listen. At least spend half an hour with us," said one teenager on the American High Web site. All over America, public television stations took advantage of American High to begin conversations among students, parents, teachers and other adults who work with young people. WGBY in Springfield, Massachusetts, held special screenings for parents and kids, followed by discussion. Rocky Mountain PBS joined with Denver Public Schools to host a premiere screening for high school students, teachers and administrators, and community members. WXXI in Rochester, New York, held four events at a local mall, which were broadcast live on radio, to address teen issues including school violence, substance abuse and pregnancy. These events brought teens together with representatives from local community agencies to open up avenues of communication.
   In three cities across the country, large-scale events brought the dialogue to community-wide audiences. The series' corporate underwriter, The Coca-Cola Company, worked with WHYY in Philadelphia, WTTW in Chicago, and Georgia Public Television in Atlanta to sponsor town hall meetings that attracted teens, parents and educators. At each event, participants from American High joined a panel that included local experts in child psychology and education for a candid and thoughtful discussion with the audience about the parent-teen relationship, alcohol and drugs, and what teens do to define themselves. "Kids saw quickly that they weren't the only ones living with their problems," says Glenda Grimsley, a psychotherapist and expert in counseling teenagers, who moderated the session in Atlanta. "I'm now using the series in my private practice," she adds. "It really opens the kids up."