As part of WVXU’s continuing American Graduate project, working to find answers to the drop out epidemic in America’s high schools, Mark Perzel talks with Jennifer Bellin who, in a volunteer effort, directs the Oyler School’s Steps for Success program that focuses on providing mentors, unique experiences and skills to aid economically disadvantaged high school seniors into making a successful transition into postsecondary school. Oyler School’s effort to retain students in their economically depressed neighborhood was recently featured on public radio’s Marketplace.
0000017a-3b40-d913-abfe-bf44a4900000American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen is a public media initiative, supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), to help students stay on the path to high school graduation and future success. Public broadcasting has a long history of improving educational outcomes for high-need students and communities. The dropout crisis demands attention now, and WVXU, in partnership with CET, is rising to the challenge of doing our part to address this problem.Together, WVXU and CET are working with national and community-based partners to raise awareness by creating local content on all facets of the problem. We’ll look at the issues that underlie the drop-out crisis, and at ideas that are working in our community. And we’ll help concerned citizens learn what they can do to help. You can follow our reports on Cincinnati Edition and Impact Cincinnati.As part of the project, CET and Nine on Your Side will present Cradle to Career: Moving the Needle in Education on Thursday, February 28th at 8:00 pm. The program will be simulcast on CET and Digital 9.2. With one out of four students failing to complete high school, the program explores the impact of the drop-out crisis on our region, as well as an innovative community approach to helping students stay on the path to graduation. To find out more about the initiative, visit cincy-americangraduate.org.