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Denzel Washington on PBS Newshour, Sept. 21

By April MacIntyre Sep 21, 2011, 0:16 GMT

Denzel Washington - 64th Annual Tony Awards - Media Room - LA Sports Club, 45 Rockefeller Plaza - New York City, NY, USA © Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos

Tune in alert for PBS Newshour, as actor Denzel Washington will appear on the show Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Mr. Washington will join PBS Newshour Senior Correspondent Gwen Ifill Wednesday (Sept. 21, 2011) to discuss the nation’s rising drop-out rates and the problems that face at-risk youth. 

From PBS

As part of his work with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Washington is in D.C. to launch a new national program called “Be Great: Graduate,” which identifies kids who are at risk of dropping out and gives them the help they need to stay and finish school.

Washington’s visit coincides with the launch of a separate effort by the PBS Newshour and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cover the nation’s dropout crisis, called American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen. 

During this 18-month project, NewsHour correspondents will travel the country examining the roots of the dropout problem and its consequences for American society. While our correspondents report on the depth of the problem, the PBS Newshour’s Student Reporting Labs will help classrooms and afterschool programs investigate the dropout issues from the perspective of the young people most affected.

Finally, educators across the country will get the chance to weigh in on the problem through a series of Teacher Town Halls organized by Macneil/Lehrer Productions and 12 public television stations.