High School Dropout Crisis is Focus of New Documentary from Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman

Special Report A Matter of Leadership is part of 'American Graduate:  Let's Make It Happen' – a national public media initiative to address the dropout crisis

ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman, the nationally distributed public television series on ideas and their consequences announces its first documentary, A Matter of Leadership is coming to public television beginning on April 1, 2012. This special one-hour HD program is presented as part of American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen, a national public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to help communities across America address the high school dropout crisis.

A Matter of Leadership: An Ideas in Action Special Report on Ending America's Dropout Crisis is a co-production of Grace Creek Media and the George W. Bush Institute.

"Each year, one out of four high school students fails to graduate," said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Public media, through programs such as Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman and the commitment of America's public media stations, is helping kids stay on the path to a high school diploma – a community priority with national impact."

"Today's classroom performance affects tomorrow's job readiness," said host Jim Glassman. "We know now that the warning signs for dropping out start as early as middle school. We went to school districts across the country including Dallas, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Hyden, Ky. to profile some effective approaches that address these warning signs, and we met with the innovative principals who are turning their schools around."

The program features concepts and results that have national impact. As Dr. Robert Balfanz of Johns Hopkins University and the Middle School Matters Initiative at the Bush Institute notes, "We know the solutions exist. It's just getting those solutions to the schools and kids with the intensity and scale required."

A Matter of Leadership: An Ideas in Action Special Report on Ending America's Dropout Crisis premieres in Washington, D.C., on WHUT Howard University Television on Sunday, April 1, 2012, at noon with a repeat airing on Friday, April 6, 2012, at 9:00 p.m. Check local listings for other air times nationwide.

Ambassador James K. Glassman is the executive director of the George W. Bush Institute, the public policy arm of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas. Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman airs on public television stations across the country. Viewers should consult their local listings for air times, visit www.ideasinactiontv.com to watch episodes or check local stations for broadcast availability.

Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman is a co-production of Grace Creek Media and the George W. Bush Institute. Funding for this program is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through the American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen public media initiative.

ABOUT GRACE CREEK MEDIA (www.gracecreek.com)
Grace Creek Media, Inc. is an independent production and distribution company based in Annapolis, MD that specializes in the development, production and distribution of documentaries, series and educational television programming. 

ABOUT THE GEORGE W. BUSH INSTITUTE (www.georgewbushinstitute.com)
The George W. Bush Institute is an independent, nonpartisan think tank engaged in policy, research, and action guided by the principles of freedom, opportunity, responsibility, and compassion.  Working with philanthropic-minded individuals, social entrepreneurs, other non-profit private institutions, businesses, and international and domestic government agencies, the Bush Institute's goal is to transform ideas into action, producing results that can be tested, proven, and replicated in the real world. 

About "American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen" (www.americangraduate.org)
The public media initiative, American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen, is helping communities across America identify and implement solutions to address the high school dropout crisis. Supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the multi-year campaign is designed to raise awareness and dialogue through national and local multiplatform programming.  Targeting communities with highest dropout rates, the initiative also increases local engagement and action through collaborations and partnerships, and increases student engagement through teacher professional development and classroom curricula. Public radio and television stations – locally owned and operated – reach 99% of the country over the air, have built models for successful intervention in early learning, and have deep connections in the communities they serve. Nearly 300 partnerships have been formed locally through American Graduate and CPB is partnering with America's Promise Alliance and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Visit American Graduate on Facebook, Twitter, or AmericanGraduate.org.

About Corporation for Public Broadcasting (www.cpb.org)
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 1,300 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.

SOURCE Grace Creek Media