Voices from the ETV American Graduate Initiative
363 views · Published 18 January 2012 · 4:21 · Indexed 22 October 2026
Channel: South Carolina ETV · 2012 · Education
South Carolina ETV is one of 61 public television and radio stations taking part in a dynamic project of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), in partnership with America's Promise Alliance and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation -- American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen - an initiative to help combat the dropout crisis in this country. As a participating station, South Carolina ETV has created ETV American Graduate to encourage awareness in our state of the factors that contribute to the dropout crisis, as well as the economic consequences of dropping out of school. On October 18, 2011 ETV convened the ETV American Graduate Summit in cooperation with education, business, and faith-based partners statewide to highlight individual success stories and community-based programs throughout the state. The Summit featured a Welcome from Dr. Mick Zais, the South Carolina Superintendent of Education, along with a presentation by the Deputy Superintendent of School Effectiveness, Mr. Mark Bounds. The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Samuel Drew of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network, and the event was hosted by P.A. Bennett of ETV's CONNECTIONS, a weekly television program on the issues and concerns of minorities in South Carolina. The Summit was recorded and has been posted in its entirety at http://scetv.org/americangraduate/summit.html. Featuring leaders in dropout prevention from across South Carolina - the United Way of the Midlands, the Midlands Education and Business Alliance, Palmetto Health, Richland School Districts One and Two, the Eau Claire Promise Zone, the South Carolina Department of Education, and the National Dropout Prevention Center - the site assembles their ideas in a readily-accessible online forum to inform the public about South Carolina's graduation rate; it seeks to link stakeholders, including educators, parents and students to local educational resources, community organizations, youth groups, and alternative learning options. Through its work on the ETV American Graduate initiative, ETV continues to partner with major players in the dropout prevention movement in South Carolina. This project is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through the National Center for Media Engagement. To see more videos from the ETV American Graduate initiative, visit the ETV American Graduate Playlist on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL30550CDFAB758ECE or go to the ETV American Graduate website: http://scetv.org/americangraduate/ Also, visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/etvamericangraduate
