Corporation for Public Broadcasting

A two-part special edition of Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman that offered diverse voices and views by policymakers and educators on American graduation rates, and the role of school leadership in reducing the high school dropout rate in the United States. The programs were filmed in schools where the challenge of at-risk youth is addressed on a daily basis.

The first 30-minute episode examined the dropout prevention guidelines for grades six through eight that were developed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Science and how these recommendations are being successfully implemented in schools by middle school principals, teachers, parents and students. The second 30-minute episode explored case studies for improving school principals, their recruitment and training, certification and empowerment as education leaders in their local communities. The episodes, and a one-hour special report combining the two episodes, were distributed in fall 2011, promoted using social media and made available as downloads on iTunes and on IdeasInActionTV.com. Ideas in Action is a continuing public affairs series co-produced by Grace Creek Media and the George W. Bush Institute, an organization committed to developing answers to public challenges such as education reform.