WQPT Assists Efforts to Increase the Quad Cities Graduation Rate 

New Public Media Programming and Public Engagement Initiatives to Help Students and Teachers

WQPT Quad Cities PBS has initiated a series of broadcast, online and community activities 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 the Quad Cities and other communities across America to address the high school dropout crisis.

Every year 1 million kids drop out of high school nationwide. In the Quad Cities, over 700 students fail to graduate each year, according to Achieve Quad Cities. The estimated economic impact on the Quad Cities is a loss of $2.3 million per student over a lifetime in revenues and earnings, according to the Alliance for Excellence in Education.

WQPT Quad Cities PBS is one of more than 60 public media and television stations around the country that are working directly with their communities to address the dropout crisis. WQPT Quad Cities PBS and "American Graduate" project partners, Achieve Quad Cities, area public schools, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Putnam Museum and the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce have developed a blend of media across several platforms - TV, radio, online - and community engagement efforts designed to raise public awareness and offer solutions to increase Quad City high school graduation rates.

"Education has always been at the center of public broadcasting," said Rick Best, WQPT General Manager. "That's why we are proud to be a part of this important national initiative and are honored to work with the local community to make sure Quad City students stay in school and graduate.  We cannot allow a generation of our young people to fall through the cracks."

"Every year, one million of our nation's young people make the life altering decision to drop out of school resulting in severe consequences for their future and our country," said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB.  "Through the 'American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen' initiative, America's public radio and television stations - locally owned and operated - are engaging local  non-profit partners, business leaders, parents and teachers to help young people stay on the path to a high school diploma."

WQPT's "American Graduate" initiative began in July with awareness PSA's to encourage community members to volunteer as career mentors to area youth.  These are still airing today on WQPT and other area broadcast channels. In addition to increasing the number of adult mentors in the community, WQPT created local programming that educated viewers about the drop out crisis in the Quad Cities and how they could be a part of the community-wide effort to increase the high school graduation rate.

Roundtable "The Drop Out Crisis"

In December and January, WQPT aired a one-hour special featuring experts from the area who talked about the drop-out rate, the steps being taken to identify mentors, to inspire and encourage students to stay in school and to drive awareness about the economic impact to our community.

"I was deeply moved and truly surprised by what I learned in WQPT's Achieve Quad Cities special The Drop-Out Crisis. I've always known how much a personal tragedy it is when a student fails to complete high school. I had no idea of the scope of the impact on our community. Thank you WQPT, for shining light on this very challenging problem facing the QC and for motivating others, as it did me, to be a part of the solution," Deanna Jensen, WQPT viewer.

Visit youtube.com/wqptpbs to see episodes of WQPT's "The Cities with Jim Mertens" featuring Achieve Quad Cities partners in action. You'll also find the special roundtable "Tackling the Drop Out Crisis" featuring area education leaders.

About WQPT

WQPT is a public media service of Western Illinois University.

About American Graduate 

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 CPB

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. 

Federal Disaster Declaration Would Help People, Businesses

Recover from Tornadoes, Severe Storms

SPRINGFIELD - March 7, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today asked President Barack Obama to declare five Southern Illinois counties major disaster areas to help people and businesses recover from devastating tornadoes and severe storms that struck the area Feb. 29. Counties requested include Gallatin, Randolph, Saline, Union and Williamson.

"We need federal aid in order to help these communities recover, which is why we worked to document the damage and submit this request for federal assistance," Governor Quinn said. "I ask President Obama to approve this request that will help the people of Southern Illinois recover from this devastating storm."

Earlier this week, damage assessment teams from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and affected communities documented the extent of damage to homes and businesses. That assessment found that 104 homes were destroyed by severe storms and tornadoes; 50 suffered major damage, and 276 others also were seriously damaged.

In addition, 10 businesses in Saline County sustained major damage, while 23 others were also affected by the storms.

If Governor Quinn's request is approved, residents in the approved counties would be eligible to apply for grants and low-interest SBA loans. Affected businesses would be also able to apply for low-interest SBA loans.

Representatives from IEMA and FEMA will meet with local government officials beginning March 12 to document expenses related to the tornadoes and storms, including emergency protective measures, debris removal, and repair or replacement of roads, bridges and other public facilities. That information could be used to support a request for federal assistance to help state and local governments recoup 75 percent of eligible flood-related expenses.

Landrieu and Grassley will host the March 8 event, and panelists will include survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse, a placement service specialist, a legal advocate for foster youth, a prevention specialist, and a child and family services agency leader.

The event is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. (ET) in SVC-209 of the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center.

The senators created the Caucus to educate policy makers about issues facing older children in the foster care system and in the early years after those young people age out of the system.  The Caucus is committed to providing a platform for those who grew up in the foster care system to describe their experiences, identify problems and suggest solutions.

Here is more information about the panel speakers.

Tanee Hobson is a Survivor Mentor and Group Facilitator with My Life My Choice.  A survivor of sexual exploitation who had been in Massachusetts Department of Children and Families custody since the age of two, Hobson is a former client of My Life My Choice who uses her life experience to help reach other exploited and high risk girls.  Hobson is a frequent presenter at public speaking events, and has represented My Life My Choice in panels at the Germaine Lawrence School and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's hearing for human trafficking legislation.  Currently studying Human Services at Northern Essex Community College, Hobson plans to continue working with exploited girls in the future and become a national leader in the movement to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Withlema "T" Ortiz is a survivor leader and advocate.  She entered the foster care system as an infant and endured more than 14 different placements while in foster care.  During those years, Ortiz also survived being subject to commercial sexual exploitation.  Ortiz now uses her lived experiences to teach, lead, and educate on needed reforms to the child welfare, juvenile justice and mental health systems.  Ortiz has lectured at Alameda County and Georgetown Law.  She has testified before members of Congress and shared her story on a national level as one of Glamour magazine's 2011 Women of the Year.  Ortiz currently serves on Casey's National Foster Care Youth and Alumni Policy Council and is a Young Woman Leader with the Human Rights Project for Girls.  She is also a mentor to other girls who have been similarly forced into the modern day form of slavery.

Michelle Guymon is currently the Director of Placement Administrative Services with Los Angeles County Probation Department.  Guymon graduated from California State University, San Bernardino where she received her master's degree in social work.  Various positions and/or assignments throughout Guymon's tenure include Deputy Probation Officer Treatment and Counselor at Dorothy Kirby Center, Mental Health Consultant for Probation, and Director of Camp Kenyon Scudder, an all-female probation camp, which serves about 300 girls a year.  Guymon is a frequent presenter and trainer regarding child abuse issues and strategies for working with youth in the probation system.  She is an advocate for children at risk and is currently a member of the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Committee, as well as a Probation Department representative with the Innocence Lost Los Angeles Task Force.  Most recently, Guymon has been designated as the Project Manager for the newly created Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking program within the Los Angeles County Probation Department.

Teresa Lowry has worked for more than 25 years on behalf of abused, neglected, and vulnerable children.  She began her career investigating the physical and sexual abuse of children for the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services.  After graduating law school she maintained her focus on ensuring justice for children and joined the Special Victims Unit in the Criminal Prosecution Division of the Clark County District Attorney's Office.  There she secured convictions for murder, sexual assault, child abuse, pandering, kidnapping, use of a minor in the production of pornography, and statutory sexual seduction.  She then was promoted to Chief of the Juvenile Division where she worked collaboratively with the juvenile court judge, probation and the public defender's office to create a specialized court responding to sexually exploited girls victimized through human trafficking.  She is currently the Chair of the Policy Governing Board of the Children's Advocacy Center which oversees the multidisciplinary protocols to respond to sexual abuse.  Five years ago, in order to respond to the need for a new way to treat child victims of human trafficking, she and other juvenile justice partners and university researchers established the nonprofit Protecting Sexually Exploited Children-Nevada, PSEC-NV.  The mission is to create programs and services for high risk youth as well as a safe house for sexually exploited teens.  As the current administrator over the Family Support Division, Lowry acts as sponsor for employment opportunities and mentor for former foster youth.

Lisa Goldblatt Grace is the Co-founder and Director of My Life My Choice.  Since 2002, My Life My Choice has offered the only comprehensive prevention curriculum aimed at reaching girls most vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation. Further, My Life My Choice offers a unique continuum of services including prevention groups, training, survivor mentoring, and program consultation.  Goldblatt Grace has been working with vulnerable young people in a variety of capacities for more than 20 years.  Her professional experience includes running a long-term shelter for homeless teen parents, developing a diversion program for violent youth offenders, and working in outpatient mental health, health promotion, and residential treatment settings.  Goldblatt Grace has served as a consultant to the Massachusetts Administrative Office of the Trial Court's "Redesigning the Court's Response to Prostitution" project and as a primary researcher on the 2007 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study of programs serving human trafficking victims.  In addition, Goldblatt Grace has written in a variety of publications regarding commercial sexual exploitation and offered training on the subject nationally. She is an Adjunct Faculty member at the Boston University School of Social Work and a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, and she holds masters degrees in both social work and public health.

Joyce Capelle has been the Chief Executive Officer of Crittenton Services of Children and Families in Southern California since 1998.  Prior to joining the agency in 1997, she worked as an administrator in public education and in hospital management for a total of more than 35 years in the human services field.  She holds a Master's degree in Public Administration with a Public Policy focus from California State University, Long Beach and a Juris Doctorate degree from Pacific West College of Law.  She has also served on a number of local, state and national committees on child and family welfare issues. Capelle currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Alliance for Child and Family Services.

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