KQED to Address Oakland’s Dropout Issue with Content, Education, Resources, and Community Engagement
San Francisco, November 21, 2011—Ask a high school student if they plan to graduate and the vast majority – 92% – say they expect to earn a high school diploma. But in cities across America the reality is very different. Oakland has the lowest graduation rate of the ten largest cities in California– only 30.4%. Students have the will to graduate but do not always have the support or resources. Participating in a new national initiative, American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen, KQED will help local communities across the Bay Area find solutions to address the dropout crisis. The initiative builds on public media’s long-standing commitment to education by convening conversations and strengthening partnerships between public radio and television stations and local schools, businesses, and community organizations to help students stay on the path to a high school diploma.
KQED is one of 20 stations nationwide participating in a public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to help local communities across the country address the dropout crisis. CPB selected KQED because of the station’s ongoing commitment to education in the community and their particular emphasis on STEM learning tools. Partnering with America’s Promise Alliance, American Graduate will leverage ongoing commitments of Oakland educational and community institutions to improve student engagement and community awareness by stressing the relationship between STEM learning, workforce development, and college and career readiness.
KQED will create local and state-wide multi-platform news and public affairs content and broadcast national content currently being created to raise awareness of the dropout crisis and its impact on communities. KQED has already produced several reports for The California Report and MindShift, and has built a web presence for the initiative in which all pieces can be viewed on demand, www.kqed.org/americangraduate. In addition, KQED will convene community stakeholders to raise awareness of, and bring understanding to, the issue by focusing on innovative solutions.
An American Graduate Teacher Town Hall for teachers and other education professionals in the Bay Area is planned for March 13, 2012 at Laney Community College. The teacher town hall will elevate teachers’ voices and address issues and recommendations unique to this region and is one of 12 American Graduate Teacher Town Halls being conducted in communities across the country with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. KQED Education will implement professional development trainings for educators with a focus on STEM learning and youth engagement.