All the Difference

#AllTheDifferencePBS
PBS Premiere: Sept. 12, 2016Check the broadcast schedule »

Links & Books

FILM-RELATED WEB SITES

Film website - www.nomadicpictures.org/film/all-the-difference/

Original Online Content on POV

To enhance the broadcast, POV has produced an interactive website to enable viewers to explore the film in greater depth. The All the Difference website — www.pbs.org/pov/allthedifference — offers a streaming video trailer for the film; an interview with filmmaker; a list of related websites, articles and books; a downloadable discussion guide; a lesson plan with streaming clips; and special features.

College Bound Resources http://www.pbs.org/pov/allthedifference/college-bound/

  • College Bound Students Handbook
    Introduced by Wes Moore and intended for first-generation, college-bound high school students, the handbook covers such topics as college selection, financial aid packages, time management, networking, academic majors and stumbling blocks.
  • Facilitator's Guide
    For educators, guidance counselors and college prep programs, the guide offers strategies and activities to use the film to start conversations with students and help them prepare for college.
  • Family Tip Sheets
  • For parents, guardians and/or other adult family members, the tip sheets offer insight and advice on everything from how to throw a trunk party, to financial aid, to what to expect for your college freshman.

From the Film

City Year
www.cityyear.org - The AmeriCorps service program where Robert is employed after college, City Year identifies schools in high-poverty, high-risk, high-need locations and bridges the gap between the support the students actually need and what their schools are designed to provide.

Urban Prep Academies
www.urbanprep.org - The website of the charter high school that the boys attend describes the school's history, philosophy and creed (which we see the boys recite).

Books Related to the Film

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
http://theotherwesmoore.com/
Two kids with the same name living in the same decaying city. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison for felony murder. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.

The Work by Wes Moore
The acclaimed author of The Other Wes Moore continues his inspirational quest for a meaningful life and shares the powerful lessons — about self-discovery, service and risk-taking — that led him to a new definition of success for our times.

I CAN Finish College: The Overcome Any Obstacle and Get Your Degree Guide by Marcia Y. Cantarella
http://icanfinishcollege.com/
This book serves as a complete guide to applying for college and graduating with success.

Reports and Stats
Black Lives Matter: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males
http://blackboysreport.org/ - This comprehensive 2015 report by the Schott Foundation for Public Education includes national data on the four-year graduation rates for black males compared to other subgroups and highlights how the persistent systemic disparity in opportunity creates a climate and perception of a population who is less valued.

Center for Promise (2015). "Don't Quit on Me: What Young People Who Left School Say About the Power of Relationships." Washington, DC: America's Promise Alliance.
https://www.gradnation.org/report/dont-quit-me - This Center for Promise report explores what young people say about how relationships with adults and peers affect their decisions about staying in, leaving and returning to high school. The report also comes with an accompanying "Discussion Guide for Individuals" with discussion prompts, resources and more at: http://www.gradnation.org/sites/default/files/DQOM_discussionguide_INDIVIDUALS.pdf?_ga=1.9883701.1872374600.144528546

"Young Black America Part Two: College Entry and Completion" by Cherrie Bucknor. April 2015.
http://gradnation.org/sites/default/files/18006_CE_BGN_ES_Web_v4.pdf
This report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research analyzes data on college entry and completion of African American students.

Economic Costs of Youth Disadvantage and High-Return Opportunities for Change
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/mbk_report_final_update1.pdf - This report, released by the White House in July 2015, examines the barriers that disadvantaged youth, particularly young men of color, face and quantifies the enormous costs this situation imposes on the U.S. economy.

National Center for Education Statistics
http://nces.ed.gov/FastFacts/# - This website provides summaries of federal research on topics such as graduation rates, student debt and popular majors.

Supporting Students on the Path to Graduation

American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen
www.americangraduate.org - All the Difference is part of American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen, a public media initiative made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help local communities keep more students on the path to graduation, college and careers. Find out what people in your community and around the country are doing to improve graduation rates.

America's Promise Alliance
http://www.americaspromise.org/Resources.aspx - America's Promise Alliance leads a movement dedicated to making the promise of America real for every child. As its signature effort, the GradNation campaign mobilizes Americans to increase the on-time high school graduation rate to 90 percent by 2020 and prepare young people for postsecondary enrollment and the 21st century workforce.

Big Brothers Big Sisters
http://www.bbs.org/ - Big Brothers Big Sisters is a national mentorship organization. Through their local affiliates, their work impacts youth in communities across the country by helping children develop supportive relationships with positive role models.

Black Alliance for Educational Options
http://www.baeo.org/ - The mission of the Black Alliance for Educational Options is to increase access to high-quality educational options for black children by actively supporting parental choice policies and programs that empower low-income and working-class black families.

Campaign for Black Male Achievement
http://blackmaleachievement.org/ - The Campaign for Black Male Achievement is a national membership network that seeks to ensure the growth, sustainability and impact of leaders and organizations committed to improving the life outcomes of black men and boys.

Center for Promise
http://www.americaspromise.org/program/center-promise - The Center for Promise, the research institute for America's Promise Alliance, is housed at Boston University's School of Education and dedicated to understanding what young people need to thrive and how to create the conditions of success for all young people.

Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color
http://www.coseboc.org/ - The mission of this group is to connect, inspire, support and strengthen school leaders dedicated to the social, emotional and academic development of boys and young men of color.

Concerned Black Men National
http://www.cbmnational.org/ - This organization's tutoring program offers an academically focused program in an afterschool setting that links learning to the school day.

Facing History and Ourselves
http://www.facing.org/ - This program works with educators to improve their effectiveness in the classroom, as well as students' academic performance and civic learning.

My Brother's Keeper
https://www.whitehouse.gov/my-brothers-keeper - President Obama launched this initiative to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and to ensure that all young people can reach their full potential.

National Opportunity to Learn Campaign
http://www.otlcampaign.org/content/about-otl-campaign - The Opportunity to Learn Campaign unites a growing coalition of advocates and organizers from across the country working to ensure that all students have access to a high-quality public education.

Reach Higher
https://www.whitehouse.gov/reach-higher - The Reach Higher initiative is the First Lady's effort to inspire every student in America to take charge of their future by completing their education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college or a four-year college or university.

Teach for America
http://www.teachforamerica.org/ - A national teacher corps of recent college graduates who commit two years to teach and to effect change in under-resourced urban and rural public schools.

Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org/ - A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance offers a place where educators who care about diversity, equity and justice can find news, suggestions, conversation and support.

For Students
Better Make Room
www.bettermakeroom.org - This U.S. Department of Education/Civics Nation social media project invites students to share their successes and sends encouraging text messages to help students stay on track while they are prepping for the SAT, applying for financial aid and taking other steps related to college.

Federal Student Aid
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/ - This U.S. Department of Education website addresses students interested in applying for financial aid for college.

Get Schooled
https://getschooled.com/dashboard - The videos, games and other resources collected here are intended to help teens choose a college, get accepted, find financing and graduate.

I'm First
http://www.imfirst.org/ - This online community is designed for first-generation college students — and their supporters.