American Graduate is a public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help communities across America find solutions to the dropout crisis.
Achieve Quad Cities: Tackling the Drop Out Crisis where community leaders and educators discuss why the high school drop out rate is high and what steps can be taken to help kids stay in school. Hosted by Leigh Geramanis,. Watch online:
The one hour discussion raises many issues as well as possible solutions to combat school drop out. The public is also invited to attend and participate in the Achieve Quad Cities Community Conversation was held in January.
Panel Guests joining Leigh Geramanis included:
— Dr. Kim Armstrong, Dean, Black Hawk College
— Tara Barney, Chief Executive Officer, Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce
— Chris Lopez, Dean of Students, Moline High School
— Dr. Matt Mendenhall, Vice President of Programs, Community Foundation of the Great River Bend
— Laurie Phelan, President & CEO, iJAG (Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates)
— Ethel Reynolds, Executive Director School Support and Instructional Leadership, Davenport Community Schools
— John Riches, Community Relations Manager, Alcoa
Get Involved...
You can join in the discussion on Achieve Quad Cities Facebook page and educate your friends and family about how they individually and the Quad City community can become more involved in reducing school dropouts.
Get Involved: Help Quad City Students Achieve
WQPT encourages you to become a mentor today. We have partnered with Achieve Quad Cities to increase the number of adult mentors by 30. This spring two school-based sites are expanding, and we need your help. Coordinated by Big Brothers Big Sisters, volunteers mentor at-risk students and encourage them to explore career opportunities and achieve academic and social success. Mentors commit to meeting with students a minimum of six hours a month, both at school and in the community, for a minimum of one year.
Achieve Quad Cities Community Conversation
How can we increase the graduation rate. WQPT and Achieve Quad Cities will host a Community Conversation on Tuesday, January 24th from 6:00–7:00pm. at the Western Illinois University Riverfront Campus, 34th Street and River Drive in Moline, Illinois.
Did you know? Every school day, 3 Quad City Students Drop Out? WQPT is parterning with Achieve Quad Cities to host a Community Conversation to discuss how we can increase the graduation rate.
Why is it important to you? Studies show that, on average, each student who drops out of school will cost our community over $500,000 in lost tax revenue, increased crime and additional health problems. When the math is done, we can see that drop outs from the last four years will incur - over their lifetimes - a cost of $1 billion to the Quad Cities.
Who should attend? Parents, teachers, students, business owners... YOU.
Project Support
WQPT Quad Cities PBS is part of a nationwide effort by public radio and television stations, addressing local community interests and activities around high school graduation rates.
American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen is a public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to help local communities across the country address the dropout crisis. CPB, in partnership with America's Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is working with public media stations in 20 "Hub Markets" where the dropout crisis is most acute to raise awareness of the issue and coordinate action with community partners—all with the goal of helping students stay on course to graduate from high school.
If you have additional resources or comments regarding dropout prevention, please visit Achieve Quad Cites.
National Focus on
Drop Out Rates
Every year, more than 1.3-million students drop out of high school… that's seven thousand kids a day who effectively close the door on the type of future we would wish for them. The students face reduced opportunity, low wages, and increased risk of incarceration.
That's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the costs of dropping out for the students - and for our society as a whole.
Ask any student whether he or she expects to graduate from high school, and the vast majority, 92%, say yes. For many students, however, the reality is much different.
Only seven in ten will actually finish high school, and for Hispanic, African-American and Native American students, that statistic drops to six in ten. This is an American tragedy, but a tragedy we can correct.
You Can Make a Difference Support for WQPT's continued involvement in helping our community increase the graduation rate will be made possible by donors, corporate and foundation gifts and from donations from viewers like you. To support WQPT's involvement in education, please contact WQPT at 309/764-2400 or via e-mail.
