You know him as the Principal of Old Rochester Regional High School, but did you know Michael Devoll also doubles as an accomplished TV host? Now, Tri-Town residents will have the chance to check him out on his brand new television show “The Devoll Show” on ORCTV’s Education Channel.
“I was involved with TV shows in high school,” said Devoll. “It’s something I’ve always had an interest in and it’s something fun to keep going.”
“The Devoll Show” encompasses a panel of guests who will be interviewed by the principal. The idea for the show stems from an idea that former School Committee Chairperson Jane McCarthy had started a few years ago. McCarthy would interview people who are important in the ORR school community.
“I was really interested in continuing that,” said Devoll. “It’s a good way of letting the public in on what happened at school, keep people updated and we can have fun with it.”
Devoll works alongside Video Coordinator Deb Stinson and a Student Assistant Tim Gonsalves. The interviews will be shot in Devoll’s office. A new show will air bi-weekly with repeat showings daily at 9:00 am and 8:30 pm on Channel 18 (Comcast) and 37 (Verizon).
The first installment of the show featured new teachers at ORR. Devoll interviewed Micah Kidney, Laura-Jean Champagne and Michael Beson. The next show will feature members of Student Council talking about the upcoming Homecoming festivities.
“One of my goals for myself this year is to have more student involvement and give students the sense that they are involved in decision making,” said Devoll.
In addition to Student Council members, Devoll also hopes to have two newly formed student committees on the show. Recently, Devoll formed the President and Vice President Committee as well as the Senior Athletics Captains Committee.
The first committee is comprised of the Presidents and Vice Presidents of grades 9-12. The second committee is a group eight senior captain of sports teams. Both committees meet with Devoll monthly to talk about issues in the school and how to make the school more meaningful.
In addition to reaching out to students, Devoll hopes his program reaches out to parents to keep them connected to their children and the school.
“I think when you have elementary school, there’s a lot more parents involved and I think it’s the natural progression of education for parents to become less involved at the high school level but they still want to be connected,” he said. “The more we can communicate, the more we can open our doors. We want them to have the same sense of community with the high school.”
For more information on “The Devoll Show” or to suggest show ideas, e-mail Principal Devoll at mdevoll@orr.mec.edu.
By Katy Fitzpatrick
