OETA Puts Spotlight on Education September 12-17

As a leader in educational media for children and students and a key partner with parents and educators across Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, in conjunction with PBS, is dedicating a special week of primetime programming for Spotlight Education September 12-17, examining the challenges facing today’s students and America’s education system. 

Spotlight Education airs weeknights on OETA-HD and includes special episodes of NOVA and Frontline, films from Independent Lens and POV and a new TED Talks. Spotlight Education also kicks-off of a year-long teacher support campaign—“Teach Boldly”—led by PBS and its local member stations across the country. The “Teach Boldly” teacher appreciation initiative includes a series of virtual and community training events and the launch of the new PBS Teachers’ Lounge, a creative digital space where teachers can share ideas, learn from peers, find daily inspiration and access the tools and resources they need to enhance their work in the classroom.

This special week of primetime programming features reports from today’s classrooms, examining how creativity and dedication to teaching all children, even the most challenging or at-risk students, are making a real difference in communities. This special week of primetime programs underscores public media’s dedication to learning and the critical importance of convening a dialogue around education.

“Education week programming helps to identify emerging and on-going topics that stakeholders can convene around,” said OETA Vice President of Education Curtis Calvin. “Hopefully, through conversation communities can begin action planning to drive our children to achieving their full potential as  the nation’s best and brightest.”

Spotlight Education is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) as part of American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen, a long-term public media initiative to help all students graduate from high school ready for college and careers. Short-form and full episodes from the week, interactive content modules and a social hub for Spotlight Education will be available on PBS.org. For updates on the programming, follow #SpotlightEduPBS on Twitter. 

As America’s largest classroom, PBS also offers digital content and services for teachers of children from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS LearningMedia, a partnership of PBS and WGBH Educational Foundation, is a free and paid media-on-demand service offering educators access to the best of public media and delivers research-based, classroom-ready digital learning experiences to engage students in exploring curriculum concepts that align with National and Common Core State Standards. Nationwide, more than 1.8 million teachers and users have registered access to more than 120,000 digital resources available through PBS LearningMedia.

Spotlight Education Week Schedule on OETA-HD

POV: All the Difference
Monday, September 12, 9 p.m. CT
Accompany two African-American teens from the South Side of Chicago on their journey to achieve their dream of graduating from college.

FRONTLINE: Education
Tuesday, September 13, 8 p.m. CT
“A Subprime Education”/ “The Education of Omarina” In a one-hour special, FRONTLINE presents two films that build on its education reporting. “A Subprime Education,” a fresh look at the troubled for-profit college industry, examines reports of predatory behavior and fraud and the implosion of the education chain, Corinthian Colleges; and “The Education of Omarina” shows how an innovative program to stem the high school dropout crisis has affected one girl’s journey, from a public middle school in the Bronx to an elite New England private school, and now on to college.

TED TALKS: Education Revolution
Tuesday, September 13, 9 p.m. CT
Explore innovative approaches to education with hosts Baratunde Thurston and Sara Ramirez. Speakers, including Anna Deavere Smith and Sal Khan, discuss the school-to-prison pipeline, the impact of micromanaging kids and transforming struggling students into scholars.

Navajo Math Circles
Tuesday, September 13, 10 p.m. CT
The one-hour special documents the meeting of two worlds when some of the country’s most accomplished mathematicians and math educators work with children and teachers in the underserved, largely rural Navajo educational system.

NOVA: School of the Future
Wednesday, September 14, 8 p.m. CT
In a new age of information, rapid innovation and globalization, how can we prepare our children to compete? Discover how the new science of learning can help us reimagine the future of education for all children.

CRAFT IN AMERICA: Teachers
Thursday, September 15, 7 p.m. CT
Follow artists committed to passing on their skills and passion for craft to new generations. Featured are Barbara Teller Ornelas, Lynda Teller Pete, Therman Statom, Mark Mitsuda at Punahou School and Linda Sikora at Alfred University.