American Graduate Day 2016 Focuses On Importance Of Mentorship September 17, 2016

While the national high school graduation rate is at an all-time high, hitting more than 82 percent last year, the graduate rates for students of color, students with special needs, English Language Learners, and low-income students are still lower than those of the overall student population, according to the latest Building a Grad Nation Report.  A recent study commissioned by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, reported that mentoring has significant positive effects on two early warning indicators that a student may be falling off-track: absenteeism and behavior problems, suggesting that mentoring, along with other research-based interventions and reforms, is an effective tool in increasing graduation rates, especially among at-risk youthⁱ.   

"The American Graduate initiative reflects public media's long-term commitment of service to our communities, particularly the underserved," said Pat Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. "American Graduate's success is built upon public media stations' local partnerships that have illuminated the challenges and inspired citizens and organizations to work together to address them."

Celebrity guests and more than 25 nonprofit organizations across the country will be featured as partners for American Graduate Day, with guests including Gen. and Mrs. Colin Powell, Shaquille O'Neal, and Rachel Platten, and organizations including My Brother's Keeper, the Sparkle Effect, Sesame Street® and the Ad Council.

Lead partner, MENTOR, will help connect adults with students in need through their Mentoring Connector database which will be promoted on americangraduate.org, by partner organizations and on air. Those who are interested in becoming a mentor and connecting with local organizations and youth can explore MENTOR's Mentoring Connector database on www.americangraduate.org.

"Every student and child deserves a mentor who will fight for them every day to ensure they receive the education they deserve," said Soledad O'Brien, award-winning journalist and host of American Graduate Day. "I'm proud to work with WNET to help highlight those individuals who are making a difference in their communities by helping students stay on track and graduate high school, but we still need more mentors to help guarantee all students reach their full potential. Through American Graduate Day, it's our goal to spark a dialogue with public media – across all channels of storytelling – about the future of our youth and the critical role education plays."

Featuring news segments, mini-documentaries, performances, and interviews, American Graduate Day 2016 is the culminating event of Spotlight Education Week– a special week of primetime education-themed programming on PBS beginning September 12, 2016. Following America Graduate Day, PBS NewsHour Weekend with Hari Sreenivasan will broadcast from Nine Network in St. Louis with a special focus on education issues related to American Graduate.  Viewers can join the conversation online at americangraduate.org and on social media using the #AmGrad hashtag or by following American Graduate on Twitter and Facebook. 

AMERICAN GRADUATE DAY HOSTS:
Juju Chang (ABC); Rehema Ellis (NBC); Susie Gharib (Fortune); Bianna Golodryga (Yahoo); Michael Hill (NJTV); Soledad O'Brien (Hearst); Sheba Turk (WWL-TV)

AMERICAN GRADUATE DAY NATIONAL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS: 
4-H, AARP Foundation Experience Corps, ACE Mentor Program of America, Ad Council, After-School All-Stars, America's Promise Alliance, Best Buddies, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, City Year, Communities in Schools, Eye to Eye, Friends of the Children, Girl Scouts of the USA, iMentor, Inline-to-Ice, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Junior Achievement, MENTOR, My Brother's Keeper, P-Tech, Reading is Fundamental, Rotary Foundation, Sesame Street®, The Sparkle Effect, VH1 Save the Music Foundation, YMCA of the USA

CELEBRITY APPEARANCES ON AMERICAN GRADUATE DAY:
Shaquille O'Neal (Boys and Girls Clubs of America), General and Mrs. Colin Powell (America's Promise Alliance); Angela Lansbury; Berry Gordy; Wynton Marsalis (Jazz at Lincoln Center); Mark Messier (Inline-to-Ice); Rachel Platten (VH1 Save the Music Foundation); Octavia Spencer (City Year); Reshanda Gray (After-School All-Stars)

Twenty local public media stations will produce original Stories of Champions segments about caring adults who have made a difference in the lives of young people.  At least of eight of these local segments will air as part of the American Graduate Day 2016 broadcast.   

American Graduate Day is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen – a public media initiative to help communities address the high school dropout crisis. Additional funding for American Graduate Day is from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Visit the American Graduate website for more details on participating PBS stations as well as other television and radio programs: www.americangraduate.org

American Graduate Day 2016 is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC in association with WNET. Michael Kostel is executive producer.  Karen Ialacci is production manager. Chris Brande and Helen Maier are national segment producers.  Anna Campbell is Stories of Champions and segment producer. From the Education Department, Amanda Granger is project manager and Carole Wacey is vice president, education. Neal Shapiro is executive-in-charge.

About American Graduate 
American Graduate: Let's Make it Happen is public media's long-term commitment to supporting community-based solutions to help young people succeed in school and life.  Supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), more than 100 public television and radio stations have joined forces with over 1,700 partners across 49 states to elevate the stories of youth and the supportive adults that help them succeed. Through American Graduate, public media, with its unique position as a trusted resource and important partner in local communities, provides a critical platform to shine a light on pathways to graduation and successful student outcomes. National and local reporting, both on air and online is helping communities understand the challenges and community-driven solutions associated with the dropout crisis. Public forums, town halls, and community conversations are activating discussions between community leaders, educators, and more.

About SPOTLIGHT EDUCATION
SPOTLIGHT EDUCATION is a special week of primetime news, public affairs and documentary programming on PBS stations September 12-17 (check local listings) focusing on the brightest ideas and toughest challenges facing today's students and America's education system. Short-form and full episodes from the week, interactive content modules and a social hub for SPOTLIGHT EDUCATION will be available on PBS.org and Americangraduate.org. SPOTLIGHT EDUCATION also kicks-off of a year-long teacher support campaign—"Teach Boldly"—led by PBS and local member stations across the country. Major funding for SPOTLIGHT EDUCATION is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) as part of American Graduate: Let's Make it Happen, a long-term public media initiative to help all students graduate from high school ready for college and careers.

About WNET
WNET is America's flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (KidsThirteen, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET's groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport.

About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of nearly 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit www.cpb.org and follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook , and LinkedIn.

ⁱ The Mentoring Effect: Young People's Perspectives on the Outcomes and Availability of Mentoring. (2014)

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SOURCE WNET New York Public Media

Related Links

http://www.americangraduate.org