[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 135 (Friday, September 19, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1486-E1487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CPB'S ``AMERICAN GRADUATE: LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN''

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 18, 2014

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, this Saturday marks the 3rd annual 
``American Graduate Day,'' a live, public broadcasting event 
highlighting those working to keep America's students on the path to 
graduation.
  Our local public broadcasting station's reporting is only the 
beginning of the work they do.
  The American Graduate initiative, made possible with seed money from 
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, is the perfect example of 
this.
  The initiative is a long-term effort by our public broadcasters to 
shed light on America's dropout crisis. But these efforts don't stop in 
the newsroom.
  It's followed by local stations joining forces with over 1,000 
partners and at-risk schools in their communities to find ways of 
meeting the initiatives goal: A 90 percent high school graduation rate 
in the U.S. by the year 2020.
  This effort couldn't be more critical.
  Each year, nearly one million students fail to graduate on time. The 
U.S., which once had some of the highest graduation rates of any 
developed country, now ranks 22nd out of 27 developed countries. That 
means today's generation will not be prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.
  The initiative has made an impact. A study by Johns Hopkins found 
that American Graduate has successfully built local capacity to end the 
dropout crisis.
  As the founder and co-chair of the Public Broadcasting Caucus, it's 
an honor to highlight the success of this program and the broader issue 
it is meaningfully addressing.

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