School's Out: Building the Foundation for Our Region's Future

Airdate: March 9th 7 - 8 pm on WKYC-TV3

Empowering our kids to acquire the skills they’ll need for tomorrow’s jobs

School is about getting ready for tomorrow’s jobs and societal needs. The latest special in this award-winning series focuses on the needs of Northeast Ohio’s employers and examines how our schools and community programs are linking skill-building to their educational programs and services.

“School’s Out: Building the Foundation for Our Region’s Future” features interviews with corporate leaders on what assets and skills they are looking for in today’s and tomorrow’s workers and explores answers to a number of critical questions: What is the range of aspiration we call “success”? Where do you go when you need skills? How does this work add value to our community? How do we engage communities in skill-set building?

Sharing success stories of young Northeast Ohioans and featuring more than a dozen innovative programs, the special explores how private, public and philanthropic partnerships are working to get it done for our region’s kids, the importance of opportunities to help at-risk kids stay in school, how schools are developing new curriculum and programming tools, and more.

Evolution of this TV Special

Too many of Northeast Ohio’s kids struggle with much more than the usual challenges of growing up. They face disadvantages in everything from housing to health care, from education to extra-curricular activities.

Fortunately, many wonderful people and numerous public and private organizations are working hard to give our children hope and life – and to build brighter futures as these young people grow up to become the decision makers, workers, parents and leaders of our communities.

It was on this premise that in 2004, Kidsohio.org, Voices for Ohio’s Children, Center for Families and Children, Forest City Enterprises, Inc. and WKYC-TV, together with several other partners, collaborated to plan, produce and broadcast a prime-time television special to raise awareness, particularly among the business community, about issues affecting children in Northeast Ohio. Since then, three specials have followed, each taking an in-depth look at a different aspect of the need and featuring effective programs that are making a difference.

With a focus on a distinct aspect of the spectrum – from diapers to paychecks– each special takes an in-depth look at the needs and features effective programs that are making a difference throughout Northeast Ohio.

Previous TV Specials

“Making the Grade: Helping Our Kids Achieve” – Emmy Award Winner!
From middle school to high school, innovative programs are giving kids the resources they need for the future.
Originally broadcast in September 2006

Of the many challenges facing Ohioans today, none is more important to the state’s future than the health, safety and education of its 3 million children.  The Emmy Award-winning “Making the Grade: Helping Our Kids Achieve” examined just a few of the many exciting programs, ideas and initiatives that are focused on helping kids achieve throughout their school years so they can make the grade.

The challenges include poverty, parental unemployment, domestic abuse, limited access to mental health services for children and a shortage of enriching environments for young people while their parents are working. 

Yet, as evidenced by glimpses of nine successful programs, Ohioans are rising to the occasion to help their kids achieve.  Educators, social service professionals, juvenile justice experts, medical staffs and family support agencies have become extremely resourceful – combining innovation, intense devotion to children’s causes and just plain grit to give Ohio’s children the resources they will need for the future.

“The First Years Last Forever”
High-quality early care and education give our kids a foundation that lasts a lifetime.
Originally broadcast in September 2005

The core concept of “The First Years Last Forever” was that all children benefit from high-quality early care and education through improved math and language ability, enhanced social skills and fewer behavior issues. Low-income children who attend high-quality programs are more likely to stay in school, attend college, earn more money and be in high-skilled jobs than their peers who do not participate.

This special profiled frontline families and children from birth through age 6 and the programs that serve them. It also provided a first-hand look at 14 effective programs for young children in four Northeast Ohio counties, home to nearly one out of every five Ohio children. The striking similarity of need indicates that the problems facing struggling working families are shared problems in urban, suburban and rural Ohio alike.

“First Years” helped to raise awareness among the public, public officials and community leaders of regional programs that help lift children out of poverty and model best practices of child-serving organizations in our region. Copies of the special have been shared with foundations, policy makers, community leaders and political candidates to educate them about the critical need to formulate programs and public policy that keep children healthy, well-educated and safe.

“Building a Greater Cleveland Begins with Greater Kids”
Working together to find new and better answers to make kids’ lives better
Originally broadcast in October 2004

“Building Greater Kids” included in-depth examples of the tough issues our children and community face. The Center for Families and Children, Forest City Enterprises, KidsOhio.org and Voices for Ohio’s Children worked with WKYC-TV 3 to plan, produce and broadcast their first television special to raise community awareness about issues affecting children in Northeast Ohio and the ways we can work together to help improve kids’ well-being.

Some of the programs featured included: health and mental health programs for at-risk infants and toddlers; community interventions for juvenile offenders and youth transitioning out of custody; mental health programs offered for kids in our schools; and advanced technology training to prepare kids for the workplace. All the programs featured compelling stories right from the children, their parents and communities they live in.

“Building a Greater Cleveland Begins with Greater Kids” achieved its goal in highlighting the issues that our children face in getting through school really affect the entire viewing audience.