Students at Rockwall High School and Rockwall-Heath High School will get a new path into sports media for the 2026-27 school year: broadcast internships through the Rockwall ISD Sports Network.

The new track, housed at the Dr. Gene Burton College & Career Academy, will place students alongside on-air talent and production staff during live sports broadcasts, according to a Rockwall County Herald-Banner profile of the program published Tuesday, Aug. 18.

Chris Curtis, Rockwall ISD's head of sports marketing, built the district's sports media operation from scratch after joining as technology and marketing manager in 2013. He launched the district's Facebook and Instagram pages, recruited on-air talent Billy Quinton and David Sweet from Sportsgram Network, and stood up the Rockwall ISD Sports Network in 2025. The network's YouTube channel, launched June 26, 2025, has drawn roughly 2,390 subscribers.

Curtis has partnered with the Gene Burton Academy since it opened in 2018, offering photography and videography internships that give students on-the-field time with professional equipment and social media management training. The broadcast internships expand that pipeline into live television production.

"It's why we're here," Curtis told the Herald-Banner. "To get these kids to the next level but also giving them the greatest high school experience. You only get one high school career."

Before Rockwall ISD, Curtis covered high school sports at CBS 19 in Tyler after graduating from UT-Tyler in 2009. He said he knew from childhood he wanted to work in sports television.

The internship expansion follows the district's July open call for student sideline reporters to cover Friday night football on the Sports Network, which we reported July 29. That recruiting effort sought students interested in on-air roles; the Gene Burton internships formalize a broader curriculum track that includes behind-the-camera production work.

The Gene Burton Academy offers 27 career pathways to students at both Rockwall High and Rockwall-Heath, spanning marketing, robotics, STEM, architecture, construction, welding and automotive programs.

The district has not announced how many broadcast intern slots are available, what the application process looks like, or whether the internship carries academic credit.