“Every year, one million of our nation’s young people make the life altering decision to drop out of school resulting in severe consequences for their future and our country,” said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). “Through the American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen initiative, America’s public radio and television stations — locally owned and operated — are engaging local non-profit partners, business leaders, parents and teachers to help young people stay on the path to a high school diploma.”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in partnership with America’s Promise Alliance and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has launched American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen — a national initiative to help combat the dropout crisis in this country. KQED is one of the 20 public radio and television stations around the country selected to convene a community of local media, education, civic and corporate organizations. KQED aims to create a better understanding of the dropout crisis in the Bay Area with a focus on Oakland, and to implement plans that positively impact the situation.
The Teacher Town Hall event on March 13 is just the beginning of KQED’s commitment to increase awareness of the dropout crisis in the Bay Area. Working with a diverse team of community partners, including Oakland’s Promise Alliance, East Bay Green Corridor/I-SEEED, ConnectEd The California Center for College and Career, Bay Area Video Coalition, Holy Name University, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, OUSD, Laney College and Oakland Community Organizations, KQED has developed a four-prong approach to address this important issue:
- KQED, in partnership with organizations around the Bay Area, will produce a series of events for businesses, youth and teachers to address the dropout issue, culminating in a “Back to School Rally and School Supply Giveaway” on the steps of Oakland City Hall in August 2012.
- Working with the Oakland Unified School District and community partners, KQED will offer professional development training workshops for educators with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning and youth engagement.
- KQED will continue to create and distribute local multi-platform news and public affairs content to raise awareness of the dropout crisis and its impact on our communities. This content will join KQED’s wealth of coverage on educational issues on such programs as Forum, The California Report and Perspectives on KQED Public Radio, This Week in Northern California on KQED Public Television and the popular education blog MindShift at mindshift.kqed.org.
- KQED, in association with Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) will provide media training and content creation experience for at-risk youth to highlight their voices in the local and national conversation surrounding the dropout issue. The videos and songs they create will be shared through KQED’s multiple platforms.
For more information on all of these programs, check KQED’s American Graduate blog regularly at kqed.org/americangraduate.
About KQED:
KQED (kqed.org) has served Northern California for more than 50 years and is affiliated with NPR and PBS. KQED owns and operates public television stations KQED 9 (San Francisco/Bay Area), KQED Plus (San Jose/Bay Area) and KQET 25 (Watsonville/Monterey); KQED Public Radio (88.5 FM San Francisco and 89.3 FM Sacramento); the interactive platforms kqed.org and KQEDnews.org; and KQED Education. KQED Public Television is the producer of local and national series such as QUEST; Check, Please! Bay Area; This Week in Northern California; Truly CA; and Essential Pépin. KQED’s digital television stations include KQED 9, KQED Plus, KQED Life, KQED World, KQED Kids and KQED V-me, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. KQED Public Radio, home of Forum and The California Report, is one of the most-listened-to public radio stations in the nation with an award-winning news and public affairs program service delivering more than eighteen local weekday newscasts and news features. KQED Interactive provides KQED’s cross-platform news service, KQEDnews.org, as well as several popular local blogs, video and audio podcasts and a live radio stream at kqed.org. KQED Education brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and the general public through workshops, community screenings and multimedia resources.