American Graduate

Series produced by WUNC

Caption: PRX default Series image
PRX default Series image 

WUNC's American Graduate Project is part of a nationwide public media conversation about the dropout crisis.

WUNC's American Graduate Project is part of a nationwide public media conversation about the dropout crisis. We'll explore the issue through news reports, call-in programs and a forum produced with UNC-TV. Also as a part of this project we've partnered with the Durham Nativity School and YO: Durham to found the WUNC Youth Radio Club. American Graduate programming is funded in part with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Project Funders:

GlaxoSmithKline
The Goodnight Educational Foundation
Joseph M. Bryan Foundation


42 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
AMERICAN GRADUATE: KEEPING KIDS IN SCHOOL
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Frank Stasio, co-host
An estimated 16,000 kids dropped out of school in North Carolina last year. That’s a slight improvement from the year before, but it’s clear that m...

  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 48:53
American Graduate: Dropping Back In
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: PRX default Piece image
Dave DeWitt reports on a school in Durham that is helping at-risk kids graduate from high school.

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio


  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 03:20
  • Purchases: 1
American Graduate: Poetic Justice Part 2 - Graduation Day
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Aaron Jones
WUNC is a part of the American Graduate Project. It's a public media initiative looking at the drop out crisis across the country. As a part of thi...

Bought by KZYX and Marfa Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 10:23
  • Purchases: 2
Special: The Monti American Graduate
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: The Monti American Graduate
The Monti - American Graduate Special is an hour of true stories from the front lines of North Carolina’s high school drop out crisis.

Bought by WHRV


  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 1
American Graduate: Poetic Justice Part 1
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Students from a writing workshop at Northern High School in Durham
American Graduate: A poetry program in Durham is using rhythm and rhyme to keep kids from making the choice to drop out of school.

Bought by WCSU-FM and Marfa Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 05:19
  • Purchases: 2
Early/Middle Colleges Boost Guilford Graduation Rate
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Loretta Rowland-Kitley is the principal of the Early/Middle College at G.T.C.C., Credit: Jeff Tiberii
Of all the large and urban school districts in the in North Carolina, Guilford County has the best graduation rate. Part of the reason is a growing...

  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 03:52
American Graduate: Earning A Degree, And A New Life
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Roy Dawson, Credit: UNC-Chapel Hill
As more and more businesses require employees to have at least a high-school degree, those who do not are getting left behind. In response, public ...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 04:49
  • Purchases: 1
Fixing a "Dropout Factory"
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Piece image
In 2009, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue and the State Department of Public Instruction took over the Halifax School System in Northeastern Nor...

Bought by KZYX and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 05:27
  • Purchases: 2
Youth Radio Institute: Addie Malone (American Graduate)
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Addie Malone
In the summer of 2012 WUNC established its first ever Youth Radio Institute. The station hired five young people -- and two mentors -- to produce r...

  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 05:57
Youth Radio Institute: Dontá McCormick (American Graduate)
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Dontá McCormick
Second installment from WUNC's Summer Youth Radio Institute

  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 06:17
Youth Radio Institute: Jasmine Farmer (American Graduate)
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Jasmine Farmer
The WUNC Summer Youth Radio Institute continues with a story from 19-year-old Jasmine Farmer.

Bought by WCSU-FM


  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 05:29
  • Purchases: 1
Youth Radio Institute: Fontezia Walker (American Graduate)
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Fontezia Walker
The series from the WUNC Youth Radio Institute concludes with a story from Fontezia Walker.

  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 05:35
Charter School Likely Coming To Chapel Hill
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: PRX default Piece image
Dave DeWitt reports that a proposed charter school in Chapel Hill has educators and families there picking sides.

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 15, 2012
  • Length: 04:12
  • Purchases: 1
American Graduate - Crossing the Stage
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Piece image
Hosted by Dick Gordon, this program talks about what’s happening with the drop-out rate in the country. More kids are staying in school but those n...

Bought by KUNM, KTSW 89.9, WNIJ, KUHF, Spokane Public Radio and more


  • Added: Sep 16, 2013
  • Length: 51:26
  • Purchases: 14
NC Students Miss School To Avoid Deportation
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Wildin David Guillen Acosta, Credit: Courtesy of the Acosta family
Wildin David Guillen Acosta, 19, was detained by ICE on his way to school.

  • Added: Sep 12, 2017
  • Length: 03:37
What It's Like Inside A Low-Performing School
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Lead teacher Amy Brewer goes over a Math lesson at Concord Middle School in Cabarrus County., Credit: Reema Khrais
Reema Khrais reports on how teacher retention issues impact low-performing schools.

  • Added: Sep 12, 2017
  • Length: 04:01
One School District Tries To Change The Status Quo In AP Classes
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Thomasville sophomore Denise Dominguez takes AP music theory, one of the hardest AP classes., Credit: Jess Clark, WUNC
Not every student has equal access to AP classes, especially in rural districts. We take a loot at how Thomasville City Schools, a small district i...

  • Added: Sep 12, 2017
  • Length: 03:40
Lawmaker Stands Behind Plan For Charter School Takeover, Despite Lackluster Results
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Rep. Rob Bryan (R-Mecklenburg), Credit: NC General Assembly
In 2012, Tennessee lawmakers took a few of the state’s lowest-performing schools and put them in an "Achievement School District" (ASD). ASD school...

  • Added: Sep 12, 2017
  • Length: 03:33
Parents, Employees Question Cuts To Durham Schools
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Piece image
Reductions in state funding have forced school districts across the state to cut millions from their budgets. But parents, employees and activists ...

  • Added: Sep 12, 2017
  • Length: 02:57
Police Arrest 14 Protesters During Rally Calling For More School Funding
From: WUNC
Series: American Graduate
Caption: Police arrested 14 educators who refused to leave the intersection., Credit: Jess Clark, WUNC
Dozens of protesters gathered in downtown Raleigh to demand increased funding for public schools and expanded Medicaid. Police arrested fourteen te...

  • Added: Sep 12, 2017
  • Length: :40