— The Screening and Forum Will Be Held Tuesday, March 10, 6-8 p.m.; The Forum Will Be Recorded for Broadcast on WNPR’s Where We Live —
HARTFORD, Conn. (March 3, 2015) – 180 Days: Hartsville, premiering on CPTV/Connecticut Public Television on Tuesday, March 17 at 8 p.m., follows one Southern town’s efforts to address the urgent demand for reform in American public schools.
An advance screening of this timely new film will be hosted by the Connecticut Public (CPBN, parent company of CPTV and WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio) on Tuesday, March 10, 6-8 p.m., in the Learning Lab housed in CPBN’s Hartford headquarters at 1049 Asylum Ave.
The screening will be followed by a “Where We Teach” community forum featuring a Q&A about the film, discussions about Hartford’s own educational issues and ways to improve elementary education in the community. This forum will be streamed live at WNPR.org and recorded for broadcast on WNPR’s news-talk program Where We Live on Monday, March 16 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
The event is free, but registration is required by visiting WNPR.org/events or calling CPBN Audience Care at (860) 275-7550.
In 180 Days: Hartsville, co-directors Jacquie Jones and Garland McLaurin — the team behind the Peabody Award-winning documentary 180 Days: A Year Inside an American High School, which premiered in 2013 — joined South Carolina ETV (SCETV), South Carolina’s public educational broadcasting network, in Hartsville, S.C., for more than a year. They filmed in two elementary schools struggling with new curriculum standards and maintaining funding, while meeting the needs of individual students. South Carolina ranks 45th in the country in education. The majority of Hartsville residents hover on the poverty line with a median income of less than $30,000, and more than half of the city’s students qualify for free and reduced-price school lunches.
Yet Hartsville is fighting the odds — and winning — with an astonishing 92 percent graduation rate in their city. This is a remarkable achievement, considering that one-third of students from low-income families in many states did not graduate despite an increase in the national graduation rate of 80 percent for the class of 2012, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
“With poor children now representing a new majority of public school students, it is more critical than ever that successful models in education be explored to ensure the American dream is attainable for all of our children,” said Jacquie Jones, co-director and executive producer. “Hartsville has proven that if the right forces in a determined community come together to put children first, tangible results will follow.”
180 Days: Hartsville is produced by SCETV and the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC). Executive producers include Leslie Fields-Cruz, NBPC’s executive director, Jacquie Jones and Amy Shumaker, South Carolina ETV executive producer of content. To find out more about 180 Days: Hartsville, visit www.PBS.org and www.blackpublicmedia.org.
180 Days: Hartsville Community Engagement grants are funded by Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen, South Carolina ETV, and the National Black Programming Consortium with additional funding by South Carolina Educational Communications, Inc.
About the Connecticut Public
The Connecticut Public includes CPTV and WNPR. CPTV, a media service of CPBN, is a locally and nationally recognized producer and presenter of quality public television programming, including original documentaries, public affairs shows and educational programming. CPTV has built a reputation as a leader in children’s programming, including playing an historic role in bringing Barney & Friends™, Bob the Builder™ and Thomas & Friends™ to public television. The station offers 11.5 hours of positive, nurturing children’s programs each weekday, reaching 450,000 households each week. The Connecticut Public also includes WNPR, an affiliate of National Public Radio, Public Radio International and American Public Media. WNPR serves 276,000 listeners weekly in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island with news and information. Its award-winning local programming includes The Faith Middleton Show, The Colin McEnroe Show and Where We Live. CPBN also includes two affiliate channels: CPTV4U, a 24/7 television channel featuring award-winning drama, news and talk programming, concert performances, independent films, nature shows, British comedy and more; and CPTV Sports, Connecticut’s only 24-hour local sports network, covering statewide high school, college, semi-professional and professional sports. CPBN also houses the Learning Lab, home to the Journalism & Media Academy Magnet School satellite campus and the Institute for Advanced Media, which includes the Veterans Vocational Training Program. For more information, visit CPBN.org.
Download a PDF of this press release here: CPBN to Host 180 Days-Hartsville Advance Screening and Community Forum_030315