Students at North Fayette Elementary School are tuned into National-TV Turnoff Week as a way to demonstrate the excessive quantity of television most Americans watch and to rekindle an interest in reading, conversation and exercise.

“The purpose of the TV-Turnoff Week at North Fayette is to have fun collaborating and building bridges between families, neighbors and the school community, with the ultimate end in mind that we will have more capable, engaged, thinking students, staff and families,” said Valerie Jones, a local organizer, consultant and mother of two sons at North Fayette Elementary.

According to Neilson Media Research, the average American watches almost four hours of TV a day (that's two months of nonstop watching per year and nine years of a 65-year life).

In a recent letter to parents, it was noted that upon high school graduation the average student has spent more time watching television than in the classroom. According to TV-Free America, a national nonprofit organization that encourages Americans to reduce their TV watching time, “Children who watch little or no TV tend to have higher grades, read more books, and exercise regularly.”

According to Jones and school officials, the TV-turnoff initiative represents the first in a series of bold moves inspired to encourage a stronger PTA and staff collaboration, family dialogue, parental involvement, and intellectual and physical exploration by students, parents and staff beyond the traditional domain.