MOLINE, IL -- WQPT, Quad Cities PBS, in partnership with Western Illinois University-Quad Cities, the Child Abuse Council, Child Care Resource & Referral, the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, Quad Cities Association for the Education of Young Children and Rock Island County Regional Office of Education, is offering a conference on early childhood Saturday, April 26 at the WIU-QC Riverfront campus.

The annual conference, which will be held from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., features 18 different breakout sessions for parents, childcare providers and childhood professionals.  Topics include assessing and building oral language, the autism spectrum, drum circle rhythms, early math, home environments, physical and creative movement, preventing behavior problems, 3-D art, using non-fiction literature and many other topics related to early childhood development.

The registration fee is $25, which includes three workshops, a light breakfast and a free children's book. All conference participants will receive a training certificate. CEU/CPDU credits and/or a college credit course through Black Hawk College are available for an addition fee.

For more information or to download a registration form, visit wqpt.org/rtl or phone (309) 764-2400.

WQPT has served eastern Iowa and western Illinois for 30 years and is a media service of Western Illinois University.

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MOLINE, IL - WQPT-Quad Cities PBS invites young authors and illustrators in kindergarten-third grade to submit their original stories to the PBS Kids Writing Contest.

Stories, which must be the original work of the child, may be non-fiction, fiction, prose or poetry. Entries, postmarked by Tuesday, April 8, can be dropped off at WQPT's office at Western Illinois University's 60th Street campus, or mailed to WQPT, 3561 60th St., Moline, Illinois 61265.

Sixteen local winners (four from each grade) will be honored with prizes at a ceremony held at the Butterworth Center in May and will appear on-air in a promotion for PBS Kids programs on WQPT. First place winners will compete for national prizes and their stories will appear on the WQPT website. Finalists and participating classrooms will also receive free books. Each participant will receive a Certificate of Achievement. Finalists and participating classrooms will receive free books.

For more information, along with guidelines and entry forms, visit wqpt.org/storycontest or contact Ana Kehoe at (309) 764-2400 or AT-Kehoe@wiu.edu.

Funding and support for the writing contest has been provided in part by the Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House, Family Museum, Figge Art Museum, Midwest Writing Center and WQPT.

WQPT is a public media service of Western Illinois University-Quad Cities.

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December 10, 2013

MOLINE, IL - WQPT-Quad Cities PBS recently received an American Graduate Champion award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for its commitment to education and support of students and their families. In eastern Iowa and western Illinois, WQPT is examining the high school dropout crisis and empowering the local community to work together to implement solutions through the national public media initiative "American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen."

"WQPT's American Graduate initiative has been going on for several years starting with our partnership in Achieve Quad Cities," said WQPT General Manager Mary Pruess. "That work led to an expansion of the local initiative to include workshops, television specials and public service announcements on bullying. This year, Erik Maitland was the local host for the American Graduate special that aired in September 2013."

Through American Graduate, public broadcasting stations have engaged more than 1,000 partnerships around the country with businesses, schools, faith-based organizations and other nonprofits working together to inspire dialogue and action towards solutions and help more young people stay on the path to a high school diploma. More than 1,700 hours of national and local public media content and events, including "American Graduate Day," have brought organizations together and inspired local citizens to become American Graduate Champions, donating time and other resources, Pruess added.

"Public media has achieved this success by raising awareness and building knowledge of the issue, highlighting proven solutions, and fostering community action toward common goals - key strategies identified by education experts as essential for progress," said John Bridgeland, CEO, Civic Enterprises, and co-author of "Building a Grad Nation" report.

"The true power of public media to improve civic life lies in their unique assets combined with their national reach and community relationships," added Robert Balfanz, co-director of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Education.

WQPT's project included the production of an hour-long roundtable discussion program; being a part of the program, "The Cities" with Jim Mertens; hosting community conversations on the drop-out crisis and bullying; creating an hour-long special on bullying with Jennifer Caudle, an anti-bullying expert and an assistant professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; creating a website hosting the survey, "Cyber-Savvy Cyber Safe;" and creating CARE QC: Connecting Anti Bullying Resources and Education.

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ABOUT WQPT-QUAD CITIES PBS

WQPT-Quad Cities PBS was founded in 1983 and is a media resource of Western Illinois University located

Moline, Illinois.

 

ABOUT AMERICAN GRADUATE

American Graduate: Let's Make it Happen is helping local communities identify and implement solutions to the high school dropout crisis. American Graduate demonstrates public media's commitment to education and its deep roots in every community it serves. Beyond providing programming that educates, informs and inspires, public radio and television stations ? locally owned and operated ? are an important resource in helping to address critical issues, such as the dropout rate. In addition to national programming, more than 80 public radio and television stations in over 30 states have launched on-the- ground efforts working with community and at risk youth to keep students on-track to high school graduation. More than 1000 partnerships have been formed locally through American Graduate, and CPB is working with Alma and Colin Powell's America's Promise Alliance and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

ABOUT CPB

 

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.

MOLINE, ILLINOIS -  Thirty years ago, WQPT, Quad Cities PBS went on the air for the first time with four hours of programming. Nancy Reagan hosted "The Chemical People," and the station held a televised talk back. Since that day Nov. 3, 1983, WQPT has expanded its broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week on its main channel (Mediacom 10 - Ch. 24) and its secondary channel, MHz Worldview.

The station's founding general manager was Robert Fletcher, who spent 10 years laying the groundwork for local public television and headed the station in its early years. Fred Marino followed him from 1986 to1992 and Jerry Sandler from 1992 to 1994. Moss Bresnahan expanded the station's impact in the community, and Rick Best, who started as a WQPT volunteer, business manager and assistant general manager took over general manager duties in 1997, retiring in 2012. Mary Pruess has served as general manager since April 2013.

Milestones in the station's history include the transfer of the WQPT license from Black Hawk College to Western Illinois University in 2010, the conversion to digital transmission in 2005 and the addition of the Sterling/Rock Falls transmitter in March 1991.

"We always seek ways to improve on what we are doing, both on television and in our community," said Pruess. "We are grateful for the support of so many who have made this milestone possible. Our volunteers, partners, sponsors and our faithful members have made it possible for WQPT to reach 30 years, and with their continued support, the sky is the limit."

The WQPT- exclusive series, "The Cities with Jim Mertens," began in 2009. Other long-run series that have called WQPT home include "Perspective" and "Life and Time," hosted by Susan McPeters. "Get Movin,'" "Artists in Profile," "Originals at RME," "Recipe Re-Do," and "Dining In" were produced by WQPT, and "Romper Room," produced by WQAD, found a home in the late afternoon on WQPT. Throughout the years, the station has produced documentaries like "3 Esthers" and "Chad Pregracke: The River Rescuer," along with such special performances as "The Nutcracker," "Dracula" and "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play."

WQPT has won numerous national awards including an Emmy nomination for "Scattergood," two CINE Golden Eagle Awards, Telly Awards, the PBS Sterling Award and others.

While education was always at the core of the WQPT mission, the "Ready to Learn Initiative" began in 1995. Since that time, WQPT has distributed more than 123,000 books to low literate, low-income children and has conducted more than 1,600 workshops in area schools.

WQPT will air a history of the station, "WQPT: Thirty Years, A Million Thanks," on Friday, November 1 at 7:30 pm and November 2 at 6:30 pm.

WQPT is a media service of Western Illinois University located in Moline, Illinois.

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