Education agenda

As PBS’s #1 producer of educational content, WGBH is committed to inspiring and engaging new generations of learners. With school budgets challenged and children entering school with varying degrees of readiness, family support, and resources, the odds are increasingly stacked against underserved populations. Getting kids off to a good start is an urgent priority and core to WGBH’s education agenda.

Whether it’s on-air programs for kids, educational outreach programs, or resources for parents and educators, WGBH leads educational media. And with more than 1 million teachers, after-school providers, librarians, and parents using WGBH’s educational materials every year, WGBH’s educational media are accessible to all –– making a difference in millions of lives.

WGBH: a trusted source for learning

Lifting literacy
Kindergarten viewers of Between the Lions — the most widely used TV series in elementary school –– scored 21% higher than nonviewers in early reading ability.

Opening young minds
72% of children expressed a strong interest in reading Marc Brown’s Arthur books after watching the WGBH series.

Staying curious
Curious George continues to nurture the natural curiosity of preschoolers, inspiring them to explore science, engineering, and math concepts in the world around them.

Building vocabulary
The first season of Martha Speaks introduced young audiences to 800 new vocabulary words.

SuperNova

Nova’s classroom-ready content is the #1 video resource in high schools nationwide, with 18.8 million website visits and 3.4 million podcast downloads in 2008.

Engineering an interest in science
71% of kids in Fetch! after-school clubs report that they don’t do hands-on science activities in school. Dreaming big: 10,000 US high school guidance counselors use Engineer Your Life resources, encouraging college-bound high school girls to pursue engineering.

Teaching toolkit
Nearly 100,000 teachers have signed up for Teacher’s Domain, WGBH’s online digital library of free, classroom-ready multimedia materials, created to help teachers customize their lessons and excite students.

Going green
WGBH’s meetthegreens.org project is getting kids excited about recycling, water conservation, and other practical environmental strategies.

Stemming the tide
Project Dropout is focusing WGBH’s journalistic lens on the high school dropout crisis in Massachusetts, raising awareness and encouraging dialogue on what many call a “silent epidemic.”

Reaching out
For more than 30 years, WGBH’s show-based educational outreach programs have reached into communities around the country to engage students and communities and advance specific educational and audience goals.

Living and learning
4 million streams/downloads were served up at the WGBH Forum Network in 2008, providing learners around the globe with free public lectures by the best and brightest minds of today.