Many thanks to photographer Christina Arbini who contributed her time and talent taking this and hundreds of other photos for the annual Mardi Gras Dinner & Auction.

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This supplement includes eleven professional perspectives on “scaling what works”鈥攚hat it means, what it takes to do it right, and what needs to happen to increase the impact of successful solutions to social challenges.

Cardinali’s article, discusses how Communities In Schools’ journey to scale since its inception in 1977 holds lessons for funders interested in supporting growth.

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New York, NY, 鈥�Communities In Schools announced today that it will be one of more than 20 organizations 听across the country participating in American Graduate Day on Saturday, September 22, 2012. Presented by and Public Radio Exchange (), American Graduate Day is a multi-platform event featuring a live television broadcast, radio playlist with premiere documentaries, and participation from national partner organizations, celebrities and athletes to spotlight solutions to the nation鈥檚 dropout crisis in which one in four students do not finish high school.听 American Graduate Day is part of the public media initiative, , made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

鈥淎s part of American Graduate Day, public television and radio stations are working in their local communities to help people understand the impact of the dropout crisis and create champions from the community to help students stay on the path to a high school diploma,鈥� said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. 鈥淎merican Graduate Day will use all of public media鈥檚 platforms 鈥� on-air, online and in the community 鈥� to tell this story and focus on local organizations and community responses that are working through parents, teachers, students, and business and community leaders to make a difference in the lives of these young people.鈥�

In a segment moderated by ABC News Correspondent JuJu Chang, WNET will showcase Communities In Schools and the work it is doing on a community level to help students stay on track to graduate. 听The following individuals will participate in the live segment, highlighting the ways Communities In Schools surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

• 听Communities In Schools President Dan Cardinali
• 听Communities In Schools Board Chairman Elaine Wynn
• 听Communities In Schools of Philadelphia Alumna Rasheedah Phillips
• 听Communities In Schools of the Charleston Area Site Coordinator Jean Rebecca

With special guests including PBS NewsHour senior correspondent Ray Suarez, the national television broadcast will air live on public television stations from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. EST on Sept. 22 (check local listings) and the Communities In Schools segment will air starting at 4:30 p.m. EST. 听Public television stations representing more than 50 percent of U.S. households will broadcast American Graduate Day with many including local content alongside the national features.

鈥淲e are honored to partner with American Graduate Day to raise awareness of a crisis that is affecting so many of our nation鈥檚 young people,鈥� said Dan Cardinali, president of Communities In Schools.听 鈥淭hrough this partnership, we look forward to educating more Americans on the proven solutions available to communities across the nation.鈥�

Viewers will be able to participate in the broadcast by asking questions and sharing ideas before and during the broadcast on using the #AmGrad hashtag and on . Those interested in becoming an American Graduate Champion can also call in at 800-313-2477or log on to to find out more about the national and regional organizations and how to help in their hometowns.

Among the national organizations that will participate in the broadcast are After School All-Stars, , , Boys & Girls Clubs of America, , , , , , , , , , , , , Teen Film Making, , and the of the USA.

Following American Graduate Day, the focus on education will continue听throughout the week.听 Programming on听the听PBS NewsHour听willfeature several American Graduate Day segments, including a panel discussion and a segment about the challenges of keeping Williston, North Dakota students in school as their area struggles with an oil boom. The documentaryFRONTLINE Dropout Nation听will air on听September 25, and the World Channel is producing a week of education programming inspired by American Graduate Day. Public radio stations will continue their broadcasts from the PRX American Graduate Day Playlist throughout the week as well.

is helping local communities identify and implement solutions to the high school dropout crisis. American Graduate Day demonstrates public media’s commitment to education and its deep roots in every community it serves. Beyond providing programming that educates, informs and inspires, public radio and television stations – locally owned and operated – are an important resource in helping to address critical issues, such as the dropout rate.

In addition to national programming, more than 75 public radio and television stations have launched on-the-ground efforts working with communities and at-risk youth to keep students on-track to high school graduation. More than 800 partnerships have been formed locally through American Graduate Day, and CPB is working with Alma and Colin Powell鈥檚 America’s Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Bill Milliken’s feet sat comfortably atop his desk as we chatted that sunny September afternoon in 1999. It was the last of eight interviews and I was more fatigued than anything else as he began to probe. Then, as now, his abiding concern was to understand what was important to me, what motivated me and how I believed the world should be. If I were to come to Communities In Schools (黑料不打烊) to run its field operations, he wanted to make sure I understood and aligned with 黑料不打烊’ vision, values and purpose in the world. Once he discovered that we shared common experiences of living in and serving poor communities, and did so within the context of faith communities, he refocused the interview and began regaling me with 黑料不打烊’ history. By the end of that hour, Bill had artfully rewoven our respective histories to make it clear that 黑料不打烊 was the logical place for me to continue my (or was it our?) commitment to both direct service and social justice. I must say he was quite right; I have had the pleasure of serving the organization for the last 13 years, and I am a better person for having done so.

Over the years since then, I’ve observed Bill’s unique ability for discovering connectedness and solidarity with those around him. It is almost sport for him, but it is one of the most powerful gifts I have ever observed in someone: that rare combination of deep optimism coupled with an indefatigable probing and tracking of another’s narrative to find common ground and common experience. Once he’s got the connection, the sheer force of his personality drives you and him towards pooling talents and resources to serving poor youth and families and, in doing so, rebuilding disenfranchised communities. This has helped power the 黑料不打烊 movement over the last 50 years, enabling it to attract tens of thousands of volunteers who, together with 黑料不打烊 professional staff, serve more than 1.25 million students and 250,000 parents and families every year.

On June 1, Bill will release his fourth book, From the Rear View Mirror: Reflecting on Connecting the Dots, published by Hay House.

In this memoir, Bill opens up his personal narrative, laying it out for others to join and make of it what each of us will. He does so with clarity, humor and raw honesty, and always through the colorful lens of a gifted storyteller. For those of us who know Bill well, we know that this is a supreme act of courage for one who’s greatest gift has also been a powerful defense.

Bill’s life did not start out easily. Despite his upper middle class background, his family’s struggles with alcoholism and his nonstandard learning style alienated Bill early in life from his family, school and community. As a result, he developed an unusual ability to build a community among those on the fringes and toggle between them and his family’s mainstream life. Bill’s capacity to live between worlds would enable him throughout his life to locate the marginal places in individuals he’d meet, communities in which he’d work and, eventually, public systems in which he’d work that purported to improve the lives of those most in need. Indeed, this gift would be embedded in 黑料不打烊’ very DNA.

In his late teens, Bill had two transformative experiences. First, a street worker from the Young Life Movement met Bill where he was — at that particular point in time it was a pool hall where Bill no doubt was working an angle. As you will read, this loving relationship sired in Bill’s mind that caring adults can unleash the extraordinary positive potential in a young person — particularly a young person on the road to disaster. Second, as Bill began his process of shifting his life from destructive behavior to service, he had a transformative religious experience. This religious experience would guide and ground Bill for the rest of his life.

In From the Rear View Mirror: Reflecting on Connecting the Dots, we are treated to the deeply personal, sometimes painful and often humorous life of Bill Milliken as he comes of age and collects a group of leaders who eventually establish Communities In Schools. Those who know 黑料不打烊 are given a rare insight into the mosaic of Bill’s life experiences that have contributed so profoundly to 黑料不打烊’ mission, vision and organizational structure. For anyone who has been challenged by living at once rooted in one’s faith and one’s humanity, Bill’s latest book is a powerful opportunity to find hope that we can connect the dots of God’s spirit in our lives, and in doing so, heal the world.

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