Moderated by PBS NewsHour’s Hari Sreenivasan, the unprecedented event asks 100 teachers to share their perspectives on how to keep kids in school; Part of a nationwide public media effort to tackle dropout crisis with new programming and public engagement initiatives.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – January 30, 2012 – Nashville Public Television (NPT), together with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s “American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen” initiative, and with sponsorship by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will host a Teacher Town Hall at the station’s studios on Sunday, February 12, 2012,  beginning with a luncheon at 1:00 p.m.

The Town Hall, to be moderated by the PBS NewsHour’s Hari Sreenivasan and taped for broadcast on NPT on February 29, at 9:00 p.m. will focus on the multitude of factors that impact high school graduation rates, including key components in a student’s education before they ever get to high school. The 100 assembled public teachers – pre-K, elementary, middle and high school will all be represented – will be asked to share their perspectives and experiences, in hopes of generating a greater understanding of the issues and engagement  with the broader community.

The Teacher Town Hall is part of a  larger series of broadcast, online and community activities in support of ”American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen,” a national public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to help Nashville and other communities across America address high school dropout rates.

 “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.” 

Every year, 1 million kids drop out of high school nationwide. Between 2002 and 2008, Tennessee led the nation in reducing dropouts, raising it graduation rate by 15 points, from 59.6 to 74.9 percent.  Even with this improvement, this means one out of every four children who start school in Tennessee will not finish their education. What needs to be done to keep more students in school through high school?

The goals of the ”American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen” initiative and Teacher Town Hall include:

•    Teachers from a range of schools in the community will come together, identify and discuss the major issues affecting the graduation rate in their schools, and have a constructive conversation about what can be done to improve the education opportunities for all students.
•    Teachers will connect with a network of like-minded professionals, gain inspiration by success stories in their own communities, and come away with concrete ideas to improve their own teaching and community engagement.
•    Communities will better understand the challenges faced by teachers and identify actions that different sectors can take to support teachers and their efforts to help all students graduate, resulting in more people contributing time and resources.

NPT 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. Together with local project partners Alignment Nashville, The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), NPT is developing a blend of media and community engagement efforts designed to raise public awareness and offer solutions to increase Nashville’s high school graduation rates.

“Since our first broadcast 50 years ago, our focus has always been on education,” said Beth Curley, president and CEO of NPT. “And ‘American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen’ is the perfect extension of our ‘Children’s Health Crisis’ series. For three years now, we have engaged the community on issues around the healthy development of our children, from pre-natal care, to physical and mental well-being to tough issues involving sexuality as teenagers. We are now expanding our reporting and turning the conversation toward public education and keeping kids in school."

Media are encouraged to attend the pre-taping luncheon at 1:00 p.m., where they can speak with teachers and representatives from NPT and CPB. All requests, including advance interviews with Hari Sreenivasan, should be made to Joe Pagetta at (615) 259-9325, ext. 211 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

About Nashville Public Television
Nashville Public Television is available free and over the air to nearly 2.4 million people throughout the Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky viewing area, and is watched by more than 600,000 households every week. The mission of NPT is to provide, through the power of traditional television and interactive telecommunications, high quality educational, cultural and civic experiences that address issues and concerns of the people of the Nashville region, and which thereby help improve the lives of those we serve.

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.