Can Celebrities Influence a Student's Decision to Stay in School?

A recent study found that schools with high levels of teasing and bullying had dropout rates above the national average. In Seattle, a program called Roots of Empathy is using an unconventional method to stop bullying -- bringing infants into the classroom to demonstrate the importance of listening and caring for other people.

Incidents of bullying in schools across the U.S. not only have an effect on students' emotional state, they can also have school wide ramifications. PBS NewsHour's American Graduate team recently traveled to Seattle to profile one program that works on curbing aggressive behavior early on by bringing babies into the classroom.

Currently implemented in 44 U.S. schools, a data-driven dropout prevention program called Diplomas Now targets students who start to fall behind in middle school, and offers them nurturing, mentoring relationships. Ray Suarez reports on how a Baton Rouge middle school was able to turn itself around by adopting this approach.

Natalie Randolph is one of the first women to head a high school football team, but to her students she is more than a coach. At Coolidge High School in Washington, Coach Randolph prioritizes academics by ensuring athletes attend study hall before practice. Jeffrey Brown talks to Randolph about success on and off the field.

High schools have made significant improvements in graduation rates in the last decade -- 78.2 percent of U.S. students graduated from high school in 2010, a 6.5 percent increase from 2001.

Nonprofit educational organization OneGoal has partnered with Chicago public schools to push kids at risk of dropping out of high school to persist and attend college. Ash-har Quraishi of WTTW Chicago reports for our American Graduate project on a special curriculum that hones leadership skills these kids often already have.

While the gap in graduation rates between low and high income students has only increased over the years, enrichment programs such as OneGoal in Chicago, Ill., and Rainier Scholars in Seattle try to bridge that gap by providing an intricate support system throughout high school -- and into college.

Good teachers can help students stay in school and keep them from dropping out. But what must schools do to keep top teachers from burning out and leaving the field? Hari Sreenivasan has the story of a Connecticut school that uses a checklist to evaluate and keep the best teachers in the classroom.

Strict rules, uniforms and college expectations are transforming Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Middle School students into scholars.