News Release

North Carolina Voices' "Daily Lessons" series
puts focus on life inside Western Guilford High

CHAPEL HILL - What is high school really like? The public can find out beginning Monday (May 22) through a series of in-depth reports on North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC (91.5 FM). During the second week of WUNC's "North Carolina Voices: Studying High School" series, listeners will be invited inside Western Guilford High School in Greensboro where a team of reporters has been documenting the life of the school since the fall.

"Daily Lessons: Inside Western Guilford High School" is a 10-part documentary series within the larger series that explores the challenges facing this "typical" school through the voices of students, teachers and administrators. The reports offer a rare "insider" glimpse of the high school experience. Photographer Billy Barnes' photo essay of the school will be online at www.wunc.org.

The expanded news series "North Carolina Voices: Studying High School" is exploring the changing role of public high schools and how to make secondary education more valuable and relevant for students. The series began airing May 15 on North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC. Segments continue airing through Friday (May 26) within North Carolina Public Radio's broadcasts of NPR's "Morning Edition" and the locally-produced midday talk program "The State of Things." Another North Carolina Public Radio-produced program - "The Story with Dick Gordon" - also will devote a show to the topic.

As part of the project, North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC recently hosted public forums in Durham and Greensboro to discuss both the current state and future of high schools in North Carolina and nationally. These forums, which included experts in education policy and reform, as well as teachers, parents and students, are airing on "The State of Things" during the series' two-week run. "The State of Things" also is airing call-in programs on related topics throughout the two weeks. A schedule of this programming is available online at www.wunc.org.

"North Carolina Voices: Studying High School" extends North Carolina Public Radio's commitment to covering the educational issues that affect the state," said Emily Hanford, senior editor and producer. "High school is a major focus of education reform efforts in North Carolina and across the country right now. The challenge for educators is not only to get kids to stay in school, but to get more of them to college as an advanced degree becomes increasingly important in our global economy."

This series grew out of an approach piloted by North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC in 2002 to transcend daily news coverage by taking an in-depth look at large-scale, complex issues affecting the lives of North Carolinians. Previous "North Carolina Voices" series have explored issues such as unemployment, war and poverty. These series, produced by the station's documentary unit, have received several awards for excellence in broadcasting. Last year's "Understanding Poverty" series won national and regional awards, including the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Broadcast News Award and recognition as a finalist for the Scripps Howard Foundation National Journalism Awards for Excellence in Electronic Media/Radio.

Support for "North Carolina Voices: Studying High School" comes from the North Carolina Humanities Council and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC is a service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, broadcasting at 91.5 FM in the Triangle and Triad, at 90.9 FM in Rocky Mount/Wilson, and at 88.9 FM on the Outer Banks.

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North Carolina Voices: Studying High School overview release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/highschool050406.htm

Note: Contact Hanford at (301) 270-0039 or ehanford@wunc.org.

News Services contacts: Lisa Katz (919) 962-2093 or lisa_katz@unc.edu; Karen Moon (919) 962-8595 or karen_moon@unc.edu