Having a high school diploma makes a big difference when it comes to finding job. In Florida, efforts are being made to not only help students graduate, but to also make them career ready.  The WFSU-TV documentary The Graduation Gateway explores the economic challenges facing dropouts. Employers explain why they tend to not hire high school dropouts.  Schools talk about what they’re doing to get more students to graduate.  We also look at the recent surge of students entering “Career Academies” in Florida. Right now, 18% of all public high school students in the state are making the decision to train for specific careers before many can legally drive a car.

The Graduation Gateway covers a lot of important elements on a very broad subject.  But we’re not done yet.  More videos about the Students, the Schools and the Career Academies are in production and will be seen here soon.

The gateway to the real world of jobs, careers and everyday life starts in high school.  Whether a student graduates in four years, drops out, or finds a different way to get an education, they are the ones who are ultimately making the decisions about their future.  But as one mother of a student in danger of not graduating told us, “[teenagers] make moment decisions not life decisions.” Those decisions have consequences and often, friends, family and society must deal with them as well.

The Graduation Gateway focuses on the economic challenges facing those without a high school diploma and the efforts to not only increase the graduation rate in Florida, but to improve the career readiness of students after they leave high school…with or without a diploma.

The Graduation Gateway premieres Wednesday, April 18th, 2012 at 7:30 pm ET and will rebroadcast Sunday, April 22nd, 2012 at 10:00 am ET on WFSU-TV.