American Graduate

Maryland Public Television is participating in American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen, a public media initiative supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help local communities across America address the dropout crisis. American Graduate brings public radio & television stations together with key community stakeholders to improve student engagement and raise academic achievement. These stations will serve as the center of community interest and activity around high school graduation rates. Together with schools and organizations already addressing the dropout crisis, the stations will provide their resources and services to raise awareness, coordinate action with community partners, and work directly with students, parents, teachers, mentors, volunteers and leaders to lower the drop-out rate in their respective communities.

Locally, MPT is partnering with University for Parents to offer dropout prevention resources at MacArthur Middle School in Anne Arundel County. University for Parents (UFP) is a family education and mentoring organization founded by Anne Arundel County resident Rhonda Ulmer. To learn more about UFP, click here.

MacArthur Middle School will serve as a host for UFP classes and a model for community based dropout prevention. Families will receive resources to help meet their basic needs, so parents in turn can focus on the academic needs and well-being of their children. With this vital parental support, students' academic performance improves, they become more engaged with their school, and their likelihood of remaining in school increases. MPT is proud to collaborate with University for Parents and MacArthur Middle School to support students and their families in this effort.

Special Broadcast
On November 22, 2011 at 8:00 PM, MPT aired No Textbook Answer, a program produced by the Kettering Foundation, highlighting eight communities' efforts to eliminate the "achievement gap" between minority/low income students and their white/middle income counterparts. Between segments, interviews with local education experts, parents, and others told the story of dropout prevention in Maryland.

Additional resources

• "No Textbook Answer" Documentary – Kettering Foundation
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting: American Graduate Program
• Dropout Prevention and Alternative Programs in Maryland

Watch No Textbook Answer on PBS. See more from MPT Specials.