NEWS RELEASE
September 17, 2014
Jeannie Huey
601-946-6777
jeannie.huey@mpbonline.org
MPB TV to Spotlight Dropout Crisis in 7-hour Broadcast
Second annual TV event highlights solutions to crisis; showcases work of Mississippi students
Jackson, MS – For the second year in a row, Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) will air American Graduate Day, a day-long broadcast of local and national educational features on the high school dropout crisis in America. The broadcast event will air this Saturday, September 28 from 12 noon until 7 p.m. on MPB TV and is presented by THIRTEEN WNET of New York.
“Over the past two years MPB has made a commitment to improving the graduation rate in our state,” said MPB Executive Director Ronnie Agnew. “Through hosting our annual dropout prevention summit, Stop the Drop, creating original programming, mobilizing student groups and dedicating broadcast time to the issue, we are working to make a difference.”
Last September marked the first annual broadcast of American Graduate Day, a multi-platform event featuring local and national programming, community partners, and celebrities focused on improving the high school graduation rates in America. The key component of the event is the participation of the community-based organizations. Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, City Year, Horizons National, and United Way are among the partner organizations that will participate in American Graduate Day 2013.
Throughout the 7-hour broadcast, MPB will spotlight the work of students from the Jackson area who are members of MPB’s “Can I Kick It?” Crews and have participated in MPB’s Youth Movement Through Media.
MPB’s “Can I Kick It?” program is designed to inspire young people to graduate from high school and encourage their peers to do the same. Members of “Can I Kick It” Crews support one another through obstacles to graduation and serve as positive role models at their schools.
Film pieces produced by Jackson-area students will air each half hour and focus on issues such as peer pressure, making the right choices during hardships, overcoming obstacles in finishing high school and coping with negative surroundings in order to pursue dreams.
More information on MPB’s Youth Movement Through Media or “Can I Kick It?” series, can be found at www.mpbonline.org/canikickit.
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Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) provides instructional and public affairs programming to Mississippians through its statewide television and radio network. MPB enhances the work of educators, students, parents and learners of all ages by providing informative programming and educational resources. MPB’s locally-produced programming focuses on the people, resources and attractions that reflect Mississippi’s unique culture and diverse heritage. Children’s television programs constitute a major portion of the daytime and weekend morning schedules. MPB provides a valuable resource to Mississippians in disseminating information as part of the state’s emergency preparedness and response system. Since 1970, MPB has won over 400 national, regional and statewide awards, including Emmy®, Edward R. Murrow and Parents’ Choice® Awards. For more information on MPB, its programs, mission or educational resources, please visit www.mpbonline.org.
American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happenis helping local communities identify and implement solutions to the high school dropout crisis. American Graduate demonstrates public media’s commitment to education and its deep roots in every community it serves. Beyond providing programming that educates, informs and inspires, public radio and television stations — locally owned and operated — are an important resource in helping to address critical issues, such as the dropout rate. In addition to national programming, more than 75 public radio and television stations in 33 states have launched on-the-ground efforts working with community and at risk youth to keep students on-track to high school graduation. More than 1000 partnerships have been formed locally through American Graduate, and CPB is working with Alma and Colin Powell’s America’s Promise Alliance and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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 more than 1,400 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.
