WFDD presents a ‘Community Conversation’

November 30, 2011

WFDD, the Piedmont Triad’s NPR affiliate, which is licensed to Wake Forest, will host a Community Conversation on the topic of the high school drop-out rate at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1, in Winston-Salem State’s Dillard Auditorium. The event, “The High School Drop-out Rate: What Does It Mean?” is the third Community Conversation produced by WFDD (88.5) and is presented in partnership with Winston-Salem State and with support from American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen.

There is no charge to attend the event and reservations can be made online at wfdd.org.

The panel for this Community Conversation includes:

• Eric Aft, Chief Operating Officer for the United Way of Forsyth County;
• Dr. Margaret Arbuckle, Executive Director of the Guilford Education Alliance;
• Dr. Edwin D. Bell, Professor of Education and Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Professional Studies at Winston-Salem State University;
• Rodney Ellis, Vice President of the North Carolina Association of Educators;
• Linda R. Harrill, President and CEO of Communities in Schools of North Carolina;
• and Dr. Robert Landry, retired Superintendent of Davie County Schools and Advisor to the Howard N. Lee Institute.

The discussion, which will explore the high school drop-out problem in North Carolina, its impact on the economy, the potential solutions, and how we can track efforts to alleviate this issue will be moderated by WFDD’s General Manager, Denise Franklin. A multipart series on the high school drop-out problem, produced by WFDD News, will air on WFDD in advance of the event.

Community Conversations are productions of WFDD and is a town hall type forum that explores topics of interest and impact in our community.

“Part of WFDD’s mission is to provide a trusted space for civil discourse — to bring the hallmarks of public radio into the community, allowing for meaningful conversations that can lead to deeper insight into challenging issues. Attendees can participate in the conversation by emailing their questions when they register for the event on our website, or by simply asking any question that arises during the event,” Franklin said.

American Graduate is a public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help local communities across America find solutions to address the dropout crisis. The initiative builds on public media’s long-standing commitment to education by convening conversations and strengthening partnerships between public radio and television stations and local schools, businesses, and community organizations to help students stay on the path to a high school diploma.

“WFDD is honored to have received the support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and proud to join our public media colleagues nationwide in this effort to cohere our community and expand the conversation on the high school dropout problem,” said WFDD’s Membership and Education Programs coordinator Greg Keener.