to Shelly Williams at

American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen
Interim Report
Due no later than January 31, 2012
How to Submit: Please email your completed Interim Report, Action Plan and Budget
to Shelly Williams at [email protected]. You will receive a confirmation email from
Shelly Williams stating that your Interim Report, Action Plan, and Budget have been
received. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 24 hours, please contact
Shelly at 314-512-9128.
2.a. Please provide a written narrative report on your Stations activities from the date
your contract was executed through December 31, 2011. Please provide as much
detailed information as you are able for all activities that have taken place prior to
January 1, 2012. This narrative report should only include the activities that you have
completed.
Your Action Plan will include all upcoming activities that you have planned beginning
January 1, 2012. In subsequent interim reports, you will add new information as the
project develops.
i. Community Partnerships Report
•
Please provide a list of the confirmed partners for your Community Hub.
Norfolk Public School System (NPS) – WHRO representatives meet quarterly
with high level school administrators (individual listing provided in interim
report submitted 10/31/11). The meetings are held at WHRO and provide an
opportunity to: discuss WHRO school-based activities; exchange information
about American Graduate, school and community resources; and share
updates on both the American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen initiative and
the NPS Achievable Results initiative which is described in the previous
interim report. These meetings are invaluable tools for staying connected and
informed. Opportunities that arose from the October meeting include: WHRO
hosted a table at the annual NPS Parent University (Oct 8th) at which
numerous connections were made, including with the NPS Senior
Coordinator of Family Engagement and service men and women volunteering
in the schools. WHRO was invited to join the newly formed NPS
Parent/Community Engagement Committee. The goals of the committee are:
1) every school will have at least one productive community partnership; 2) to
empower and assist parents and schools in serving as co-educators for our
children at school and at home; 3) launch “attendance matters” community
awareness campaign; 4) publish a Community Action Plan for marshaling
parents, community members and staff behind a shared mission for student
success. WHRO is already supporting the goals of the committee in
numerous ways, including: identifying potential school partners and playing a
lead role in planning a series of community conversations that will be the
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1
foundation from which NPS will develop its Community Action Plan. WHRO
will also respond through local programming and “calls for action” to the
broader local community.
Lafayette-Winona Middle School, Norview Middle School & Booker T.
Washington High School (9th grade) – WHRO’s education team is working
directly with these three Norfolk Public Schools to deploy education activities
that include: Tech Trek: American Graduate (completed August 2011);
Monthly professional development; “Our Voices,” a curriculum built around
Adobe Youth Voices, to create youth generated digital stories; Parent
Engagement Seminars; and Spotlight Programs.
United Way of South Hampton Roads – The United Way is a partner in the
community conversations and is recruiting members of their African American
Leadership Council to facilitate dialogues. WHRO and the United Way are
also planning cross-promotion of two new online tools that have been
donated to the United Way. They both serve as matchmakers for needs and
services. Gift-link.org connects donations of goods with the needs of schools
and nonprofits. Serveshr.org matches qualified volunteers with schools and
nonprofits that have a need for their particular expertise and availability.
These online tools will be a way for additional community partners to engage
in the initiative.
Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement (HRCCE) – A Kettering
Foundation “Center for Civic Life,” the HRCCE was among the institutions
and organizations that participated in the research and writing of the National
Issues Forum (NIF) discussion guide, Success in School, Ready for Life: How
Can We Help More Students Graduate from High School? We are working
with HRCCE and NIF to hold moderator training for the upcoming community
conversations using the NIF discussion guide. WHRO, NPS and the United
Way are pooling funds to cover the cost of the training.
Broad Creek Digital Inclusion Advisory Board – Members of the advisory
board (organizations represented are listed in previous interim report) are
facilitating connections and opportunities for WHRO to deploy parent
engagement, “Our Voices” curriculum, Spotlight programs during the summer,
and other broadband initiatives designed to encourage on-time graduation.
For example, two community “TechFests” have been conducted since August
2011 in two different Broad Creek neighborhoods. Activities have involved all
of the partners and have included the following; free computer training (a
portion of which is delivered on a mobile computer training bus), rocket and
other science demonstrations, The WHRO PBS Kids van, reading games,
free book giveaways, smartboard demonstrations highlighting PBS Kids Lab
with interactive games where children get to actually play the various games,
Internet safety seminars, Norfolk State University course of study promotions,
ongoing performances by Teens with a Purpose, free door prize drawings,
and free food. Over three hundred community members and their children
have attended each event. A third TechFest focusing on Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics is scheduled at Norfolk State
University (which is located in one of the Broad Creek neighborhoods) on
January 21, 2012. A key component of that event will be formal Video Game
Development training to support the National STEM Video Game Challenge.
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Association with the Broad Creek community is critical because it feeds all
three of WHRO’s partner schools.
Old Dominion University Center for Educational Partnerships – The Center
establishes collaborative educational enterprises with schools and school
divisions in Hampton Roads and greater Virginia. The Center responds to
regional educational priorities, facilitates the strategic use of information, and
collaborates on basic and applied research and development activities to
create new knowledge and innovative technologies that address significant
educational issues. In September 2011, the Center published “Needs of
Military-connected School Divisions in South-eastern Virginia,” a technical
report on the academic and social emotional needs, existing institutional
supports, and potential areas for improving school responsiveness to
educational obstacles faced by military-connected children experiencing
transitions and parental deployment. The Center has also developed TEAMS,
Teaching, Education and Awareness for Military-connected students, a
unique interdisciplinary initiative to increase the capacity of schools to
understand and respond to the academic, social and emotional needs of
military-connected students. WHRO is working with the Center to coordinate
a StoryCorps National Teachers Initiative visit in Feb 2012, ensuring that
some of the interviews capture the military perspective. WHRO also attended
a dropout prevention event hosted by the Center (Nov 7th). We are both
excited about collaborative opportunities to respond to the dropout crisis. The
Center recently received a substantial DOE grant to improve mathematics
instruction in high-need middle schools, including some in Norfolk and
Portsmouth.
These are currently our primary partners with whom we are building the
foundation of our initiative. We have, however, made connections with
numerous organizations and are building a database of multi-sector contacts.
Once we have the infrastructure in place, we will encourage much more
broad-based involvement. We anticipate that our American Graduate website
and local programming will provide multiple avenues for community
engagement and sharing diverse perspectives.
•
Please place an “x” in the box next to all that apply to any of your confirmed
community partners
Sector
Civic
School/District
District
x
X
Scope
City
Region
State
x
X
X
Work
Volunteering
After-School Program
Tutoring/Mentoring
X
X
X
Faith
Foundation
Higher Education
Non-Profit
Business
American Graduate
Interim Report 1.31.12
National
X
X
X
Professional Development
Policy/Research
Parent Engagement
Media Creation
Funder
X
X
3
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•
How are your partners guiding and informing and contributing to your work?
Please type “x” in the box next to all that apply.
Contributions
Knowledge
Funding
x
X
X
X
Data
X
Distribution of content
X
Connection to other community partners
X
Access to constituent networks
•
How is American Graduate helping your partners impact the community?
American Graduate connects WHRO and our community with a national
initiative focused on a critical issue. The national American Graduate: Let’s
Make it Happen initiative lends perspective, resources, and tools to support
stations as they organically engage their respective communities. The
initiative also offers a platform for networking beyond our locality and allows
us to amplify our voice on a national stage. We believe that if a commitment
to the goals of American Graduate can be sustained, public media has the
potential of inspiring the American public to rally behind measures that
support quality public education and dropout prevention for all children.
WHRO regularly facilitates connections among various community partners.
As a regional public media and educational organization engaged in the
community, we seem to “have our finger on the pulse” of local multi-sector
resources. We know the needs as well as the resources, and we facilitate the
connections.
•
Please provide any good quotes, comments or feedback that you have
received from either your local partners or community members?
Tech Trek: American Graduate (You should already have these. If not, she
Annie or Angie.)
Anti-bullying forum (I thought you organized this event and therefore should
have these quotes. If not, I’m not sure where to direct you.)
Each month, the WHRO member guide features an article related to the
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American Graduate initiative. In December, the story featured “Hot Meals and
Homework,” a program sponsored by ForKids, a regional nonprofit whose
goal is to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. A “call to action”
encouraged members to give of their time, talents and resources to support
our children. We received a call from a member who wanted to tutor at a
school in Virginia Beach. WHRO connected the retired sales executive with
the volunteer coordinator in Virginia Beach Public Schools and she is now
tutoring two boys at an elementary school.
Also in December, Another View, WHRO’s radio public affairs program that
focuses on issues important to the African American community, had a
program titled “Keeping African American Boys in School.” In response to that
program, a local African American lawyer wrote to the host because he
wanted to continue the conversation about the importance of parental
involvement. The host of Another View put him in touch with a community
member who is working in that arena.
•
Have there been any changes to your internal American Graduate project
team members? If so, please indicate the change. If there have been
additions, please list their role and contact information.
We have added members to our team, they are:
Danny Epperson, Senior Producer
[email protected], 757/889-9425
Role: Producer for the Teacher Town Hall
Linda Delgado, Director of TV Programming
[email protected], 757/889-4315
Role: Identify and schedule related national programming
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
New to the distribution list, but do not regularly attend meetings
Greg Carter
Martha Edwards
Janie Hill
Diane Rogic
Terri Kruger
Wend Hazel
Nancy Ronald
ii. Action Plan Report
•
Your Action Plan is the roadmap for your upcoming activities and is designed
to align your planned activities with the stated goals of the American
Graduate Initiative. Please use the attached template to report on all planned
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activities that will occur after December 31, 2011. Please align ALL of your
PLANNED Community Hub activities with the goals of American Graduate
and the components of the Civic Marshall Plan.
•
Please list and explain any and all changes in your station’s activities that
have occurred October 31 - December 31, 2011. These changes may
include:
o Activities that were included in your October 31st Action Plan, but did
not happen.
o Additional activities that have taken place but were not originally
included in your October 31st Action Plan.
o Changes in activity dates, focus, etc.
iii. Teacher Town Hall Report—Only APT, NPT, DPTV, WHRO, KQED, KNME,
Vegas PBS, Nine Network, WNET, Florida, DC and Southern California
Collaboratives:
•
Please provide any additional information about how your Community Hub
will create a Teacher Town Hall aligned with the intended goals of the
American Graduate initiative.
WHRO’s Teacher Town Hall: Live stream on Wednesday, March 28th from 7 –
8 pm.
WHRO is unique in that we are owned by 18 school districts in Hampton
Roads, representing urban, suburban, and rural communities. We are
recruiting teachers from throughout the region and hope to be able to select
participants who will represent the broad diversity of our region.
Also, in southeastern Virginia, we have the largest and most concentrated
population of military-connected families in the nation. We are adding a
question to our survey to capture teachers’ perspectives on the challenges of
military-connected students and will include that as a topic in our teacher
town hall.
At the end of the town hall, we will engage the audience to create a list of the
major issues of concern for teachers in our community and will further explore
those topics through local programming and outreach.
Pat Harrison, CPB President and CEO, will join us on that day and will, along
with a high ranking military officer, read to students at a military connected
elementary school.
WHRO has established media collaboration around the teacher town hall. We
are collaborating with WVEC, our ABC affiliate, and several print publications
including The Virginian-Pilot, the daily newspaper serving South Hampton
Roads, and Inside Business, a weekly publication providing in-depth business
news and analysis. Others may come on-board closer to the event date.
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Media partners will focus on various aspects of the dropout crisis at least a
week prior to and leading up to our teacher town hall. We will all crosspromote each other’s coverage of the issue.
WHRO will premiere our first of two American Graduate half-hour
documentaries on Monday, March 26th at 9 pm. The documentary will frame
the dropout issue and present diverse perspectives on why the community
should be concerned about the issue.
StoryCorps National Teachers Initiative will be in our area in advance of the
Teacher Town Hall to record interviews. We will produce several of our own
segments to air and may use some of the audio during our town hall,
particularly if there are StoryCorps participants in the audience.
StoryCorps Airbus will be on display in our parking lot on the day of our
teacher town hall.
We are also planning two additional town halls to give voice to other
perspectives. One will share the views of parents and students and the other
will engage leaders and stakeholders.
iv. Content Report
•
Please provide information on your content creation and distribution activities
to date. What have you produced through 12/31/11? For each piece of
content, provide:
o Title: Another View “Park Place School”
o Broadcast date: November 4, 2011
o Target audience: Focus on issues important to the African American
community, but of interest to all.
o URL: http://anotherviewradio.org/
o All places where content has been distributed: WHRV 89.5 FM,
podcasts
o Metrics around usage
Title: School Talk
Broadcast date: November 6, 2011, repeats November 20th
Target audience: Educators in Hampton Roads
URL: http://www.schooltalk.org/
All places where content has been distributed: WHRO TV 15,
Podcasts,
o Metrics around usage
o
o
o
o
o
o Title: Another View “Keeping African American Boys in School”
o Broadcast date: December 16, 2011
o Target audience: Focus on issues important to the African American
community, but of interest to all.
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o URL : http://anotherviewradio.org/
o All places where content has been distributed: WHRV 89.5 FM,
podcasts
o Metrics around usage
Title: School Talk
Broadcast date: December 18, 2011
Target audience: Educators in Hampton Roads
URL: : http://www.schooltalk.org/
All places where content has been distributed: WHRO TV 15,
Podcasts,
o Metrics around usage
o
o
o
o
o
v. Professional Development Report
•
Please provide information on your education activities to date. Be sure
to include updates on professional development, youth media creation,
student and/or parent engagement, your station's "Spotlight Project,"
and any other direct services to teachers, students, or administrators.
Tech Trek: American Graduate, a weeklong technology immersion training
camp for educators from our partner schools, was completed in August 2011.
A full report on Tech Trek was provided in our interim report submitted in
October 2011.
Planning for professional development and the school-based implementation
of “Our Voices,” the Spotlight Projects, and parent engagement seminars is in
progress. The WHRO Education Team is working through school principals
to begin the activities in January 2012.
The Education Team is also planning to deploy “Our Voices,” Spotlight
Projects, and parent engagement seminars during Summer 2012 at….
Serving the communities that feed our partner schools.
•
How are you using your community partners in the planning of your education
and professional development activities?
WHRO is working through the principals in our partner schools to identify
specific school needs as well as the participants for education and
professional development activities.
The Broad Creek Digital Advisory Board and… are assisting with the summer
parent/student engagement activities being held at the YMCA and Parks and
Recreation Center.
•
How are you promoting resources and materials to educators? What you are
doing and how it’s going?
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WHRO is owned by 18 school systems in Hampton Roads and we regularly
share information, resources and materials through numerous distribution lists
and regular regional meetings, as well as through other established
connections.
Those communication channels include:
Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø
WHRO Superintendents Advisory Council
WHRO Educational Advisory Council
WHRO Technology Advisory Council
The Consortium for Interactive Instruction
The Regional Schools Contact Planning Committee
All of these groups have received information about the American Graduate:
Let’s Make it Happen initiative, the StoryCorps National Teachers Initiative
visit, and the Teacher Town Hall.
Educators began contacting us about participating in the teacher town hall
well in advance of the registration process.
•
How is American Graduate helping your area educators?
WHRO is providing added value to the Norfolk Public Schools Achievable
Results initiative. The goals of Achievable Results and American Graduate
are closely aligned and everything we deploy supports their efforts. It is
synergy at its best.
We are also using our communications channels to share information and
resources with our broader owner/member school systems.
•
How is American Graduate helping your area youth/parents?
We have connected with individual youth and parents, but are still developing
the resources and building the tools that will ultimately help youth and
parents. It is important that we have the infrastructure in place to support
youth and parents to achieve maximum impact.
Our broadcast programs and website currently offer important information, but
it will be when we can match youth/parent needs with effective support
systems, that we will have the greatest impact.
Programs, like TechFests, are facilitating communication and understanding
between the educators, parents, and students…
vi. Promotion and Marketing Report
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•
Please provide information on your promotional and marketing activities
(content, communication, materials, etc.) to date.
Each month, WHRO identifies related local and national programming and
wraps each program with promotion for American Graduate: Let’s Make it
Happen. The related programming is also promoted in our monthly member
guide and on our American Graduate website. Our member guide also
features an article on some aspect of the initiative every month.
Information on the initiative has been shared through WHRO’s participation in
numerous community events, during meetings with staff, WHRO’s education
committees, community partners, and through presentations to various
groups.
•
How are you engaging your community online? Also include web metrics,
links, or social media analytics.
o Website URL: http://www.whro.org/home/html/american-graduate/
o Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/WHROamericangraduate
o Twitter:
o Tumblr:
o Other 1:
o Other 2:
•
What kinds of community events are you doing? Please provide dates of the
events, the type of event, the target audience, and who attended.
So far, we have participated in numerous events hosted by other
organizations, but have not held our own community event. Community
events where information on American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen was
shared include:
Ø 08/2011- TechFests. Activities involved all of the partners and included
the following; free computer training (a portion of which is delivered on
a mobile computer training bus), rocket and other science
demonstrations, The WHRO PBS Kids van, reading games, free book
giveaways, Smartboard demonstrations highlighting PBS Kids Lab with
interactive games where children get to actually play the various
games, Internet safety seminars, Norfolk State University course of
study promotions, ongoing performances by Teens with a Purpose,
free door prize drawings, and free food. Over three hundred
community members attended.
Ø 09/22/11 – Norfolk Education Foundation Community Exchange
Breakfast. Attended by over 250 businesses, community leaders,
elected officials, neighborhood representatives and realtors. WHRO
was the media sponsor and Barbara Hamm Lee, WHRO Creative
Services Officer, served as moderator. During event, WHRO had a
table that distributed American Graduate materials.
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Ø 09/27/11 – Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, an American
Graduate community partner, hosted an anti-bullying forum for
educators at WHRO. WHRO assisted with participant recruitment and
presented on American Graduate during the event. Over 30 educators
attended.
Ø 10/01/11- Virginia Children’s Festival. WHRO held Smartboard
demonstrations highlight PBS Kids Lab with interactive games, had
free book giveaways, and provided a VIP breakfast with PBS
characters for children in American Graduate target communities. The
event attracted thousands of students and parents.
Ø 10/08/11 – Norfolk Public Schools Parent University. WHRO hosted a
table at the event and offered information on American Graduate. Over
300 parents and students attended.
Ø 10/08/11 – CHROME (Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for
Minorities in Engineering) Leadership event held at Norfolk State
University. The American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen initiative
was presented during a breakout session.
Ø 10/10/11-WHRO hosted a One-Economy Digital Connector graduation.
(I don’t know how to describe this progam). During the event, WHRO
captured an footage that will be used for interstitials.
Ø 10/12-13/11 – ModSim. WHRO provided booths that highlighted online
courses, rich media content development and digital tools that are
beneficial to target community, teacher training activities involving
Norfolk Public School educators from American Graduate target
communities, and student specific activities in which schools used
busses to shuttle kids to event.
Ø 12/11/11- STEM Video Game Challenge. WHRO received a grant
from CPB to conduct STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
math) Video Game Challenge Training. Program is an annual
competition that intends to motivate interest in STEM learning among
youth. WHRO will be working with Broad Creek Advisory group to
promote the event which will be held at Norfolk State University. This
event will also be an opportunity for WHRO to take footage of students
and partner members for interstitials.
Ø WHRO has attended monthly Youth Partnership of South Hampton
Roads meeting to report ongoing American Graduate activities.
Ø (DATE) Martha Speaks Reading Buddies. WHRO submitted proposal
and was funded to conduct the program in one of the military feeder
elementary schools.
Ø 12/1/11 WHRO met with the Y to initiate the incorporation of Martha
Speaks Reading Buddies and the Electric Company curriculum
materials into the Y’s existing elementary programs in our feeder
elementary schools.
o What happened as a result of these activities?
WHRO learned more about community efforts to address the dropout
crisis and made important new connections which will enable
conversation among WHRO, community members, and American
Graduate partners. I think that a bit more happended that this if you
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take into account all of the stuff we’ve added.
o What connections are you creating for the participants? You should
be able to describe this now with all of the new information.
•
2.b.
3.
Please provide links to any earned media.
Financial Report
•
Please provide an interim cumulative financial report in the form of the Budget
from September 30, 2011 through December 31, 2011.
•
Using the budget report you submitted for your 10/31/11 report, insert a new
column labeled, “Expenses from 9/30/11 – 12/31/11.” You should report
expenses toward each line item.
Additional Information
•
What is your station’s greatest success thus far with American Graduate?
Tech Trek….
TechFests…
How about the cumulative, ongoing, long-term effect of all of our activities??
Student Reporting Lab….
•
Has American Graduate changed any processes for how you work internally
at your station?
Staff is working more collaboratively which allows for diverse perspectives to
be shared during decision making processes. Also, since just about everyone
at station is involved in same project, it seems to be enhancing
interdepartmental relationships.
•
Do you have any pictures of your work with American Graduate? Please send
us a link and indicate date, credit, and what is happening in the picture. Yes.
See Annie for some TechFest, Digital Connector graduation and Children’s
Festival pics. I have some other TechFest pics I’ll try to get to you. We also
took pictures that I thought I sent to you of the NEF table. I also have a
couple ModSim booth pics that I’ll try to send.
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•
Might want to say something about the direct impact that the TechFests are
having, as described above.
•
We also had a table here and distributed American Graduate materials.
•
What about the Virginia Children’s Festival on 10-1 where Shock (from Electric
Company) performed and we did lots of booth activities. Smartboard demos like
described in TechFest paragraph, thousands of parents and children, free book
giveaways, our van, four PBS characters (where children in our target
communities were invited to a special VIP breakfast with the PBS characters),
etc.
•
How about listing the two TechFests and then elaborating on the partners and
their roles, the target community audiences, the activities, and the attendance?
What about our booth at ModSim 10/12-13 where we highlighted our online
courses, rich media content development and digital tools. There were several
teacher training activities involving NPS teachers some from our target
communities as well as student specific events where schools actually bussed in
students.
•
•
Submitted STEM Video Game Challenge proposal and was awarded grant.
Activity to occur in January at NSU as described elsewhere
•
Attended monthly Youth Partnership of south Hampton roads meetings and
reported on ongoing AG activities.\
•
(DATE) Submitted Martha Speaks Reading Buddies proposal and was funded to
conduct the program in one of the military feeder elementary schools.
•
Met with the Y on 12-1 to incorporate Martha Speaks Reading Buddies and the
Electric Company curriculum materials into the Y’s existing before and after
school elementary programs in our feeder elementary
•
Hosted a One Economy Digital Connector graduation at WHRO on 10/10. (You
should be able to describe the DC program and its importance.) We also got lots
of footage for interstitials.
•
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