Fw: Oprah's Special Report: American Schools in Crisis

["GERALD BRACEY" <gbracey1@verizon.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Toppo, Greg" <gtoppo@usatoday.com>
To: "Toppo, Greg" <gtoppo@usatoday.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 09, 2006 9:56 AM
Subject: FW: Oprah's Special Report: American Schools in Crisis


Hold on to your hats -- Oprah has discovered school reform.

-gt

-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Halliday [mailto:newsalert@mailunique.com]
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 11:53 PM
To: Toppo, Greg
Subject: Oprah's Special Report: American Schools in Crisis





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2006

CONTACT:
LISA HALLIDAY
ANGELA DE PAUL
312-633-1182

A TWO-PART "OPRAH'S SPECIAL REPORT: AMERICAN SCHOOLS IN CRISIS"

***Featuring an Exclusive TV Interview with Bill and Melinda Gates***

CHICAGO  In a two-day special report, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" goes
inside high schools across the country for an unflinching investigation.
Oprah
says, "Most Americans have no idea how bad things really arewe are in a

state of emergency. I'm blown away that this isn't what is on every
parent's
mind when it comes to elections. That people are not in the streets
fighting
for their kids."

On Tuesday, April 11's episode:
* Bill and Melinda Gates tell Oprah that they are terrified about the
disastrous
consequences of American's failing high school education system. Bill
Gates
says, "I think it's fair to say the future of this country depends
solely on
renewing our commitment to education."
* "The Oprah Winfrey Show" conducts its own experiment swapping inner-
city Chicago public high school students with those from a suburban
school to
compare the two environments with shocking results.
* CNN's Anderson Cooper exposes "Oprah" viewers to the appalling
conditions
of a Washington, DC school only minutes from the White House.
* Investigative journalist Lisa Ling uncovers the silent epidemic in
middle
suburban America where the high school dropout rate has spiraled out of
control.

As part of this special two-part programming, "The Oprah Winfrey Show"
partnered with TIME magazine to examine the high school dropout crisis
in
America. Some of "The Oprah Winfrey Show"/TIME poll's findings included:

- 61% of Americans think that the public school system is in crisis.
- 52% of Americans polled believe that public schools have gotten worse
in
the last 20 years.
- 59% of respondents are willing to pay higher taxes to improve public
schools.

On Wednesday, April 12's episode:
* Oprah joins Bill and Melinda Gates on a field trip to a cutting edge
school in
San Diego that may be part of the solution.
* Former NBA star Kevin Johnson shares why he now runs six schools in
his
Sacramento neighborhood.
* Anderson Cooper visits a groundbreaking KIPP school to see how its
innovative teaching methods have overcome impossible odds.
* Lisa Ling goes inside the first-ever high school behind bars in San
Francisco
to spotlight the hidden connection between low reading scores and prison

time.
* Plus, viewers are introduced to a nationwide campaign, which the Bill
&
Melinda Gates Foundation is helping to fund, to create awareness and get
the
public involved with revolutionizing the education system.

Tune in to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 and
Wednesday, April 12, 2006 to see these special episodes (check local
listings).

NOTE TO EDITORS: A photo of Oprah Winfrey with Bill and Melinda Gates is

available by request by emailing: harpo_pr@harpo-pr.interaccess.com

* "The Oprah Winfrey Show"/TIME poll was conducted by telephone between
March 28-30, 2006 among a national random sample of 1,000 adults, age 18

and older throughout America. The margin of error for the entire sample
is
approximately +/- 3 percentage points. The margin of error is higher for

subgroups. Surveys are subject to other error sources as well, including

sampling coverage error, recording error, and respondent error.
Schulman,
Ronca, & Bucuvalas (SRBI) Public Affairs designed the survey and
conducted
all interviewing. The full "The Oprah Winfrey Show"/TIME questionnaire
and
trend data may be found at: www.srbi.com and on www.oprah.com.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" has remained the number one talk show for 19
consecutive seasons, winning every sweep since its debut in 1986.**  It
is
produced in Chicago by Harpo Productions, Inc. and syndicated to 215
domestic markets by King World and to 122 countries by CBS Paramount
International Television.

Source:
**Nielsen Cassandra Ranking Report - Nov'86 to July '99 and Wrap Sweeps,

Nov '99 to July '05. Primary Telecasts Only.


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