Today’s classroom performance affects tomorrow’s job readiness and we know now that the warning signs for dropping out start as early...
Today’s classroom performance affects tomorrow’s job readiness and we know now that the warning signs for dropping out start as early as middle school. As part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Graduate initiative, Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman took an in-depth look at nationwide efforts toward ending America’s dropout crisis in its one-hour documentary, A Matter of Leadership. A Matter of Leadership profiles some effective approaches that address these warning signs, and the innovative principals who are turning their schools around in school districts across the country including Dallas, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Hyden, Ky. The program features concepts and results that have national impact. As Dr. Robert Balfanz of Johns Hopkins University and the Middle School Matters Initiative at the Bush Institute notes, “We know the solutions exist. It’s just getting those solutions to the schools and kids with the intensity and scale required.” The Middle School Matters initiative at the Bush Institute integrates research based strategies and support tools to assess leadership, effective teaching methods, achievement, academic data and dropout prevention programs to overhaul the traditional middle school model and ensure students have the required academic foundation to successfully complete high school. A Matter of Leadership: An Ideas in Action Special Report on Ending America’s Dropout Crisis is a co-production of Grace Creek Media and the George W. Bush Institute. The documentary has been aired on 78 stations around the country and next airs tonight on KOCE-OC in Los Angeles at 9:00pm. To watch this powerful documentary online, click here. This post was written by James K. Glassman, Founding Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute.
