"The Pushouts" premieres Friday, December 20th on PBS

From the Frontline introduction to the film:
​ "For decades we’ve heard about America's “dropout crisis.” Meet Dr. Victor Rios, a high school “dropout” turned author and professor, who designs programs to support students who've been pushed out of school. To solve our crisis in education, Rios argues, is to shift our understanding of the problem.

The Pushouts filmmakers follow Rios and his team of mentors as they work to build an innovative learning environment for young people fighting to succeed despite overwhelming systemic barriers. 

'It's not just about these kids redeeming themselves. It's also about us redeeming ourselves - turning around the system that has really set up a lot of these young people to fail,' says Rios. 

FRONTLINE first met Rios while filming the 1994 classic film, School Colors — when he was a struggling student at Berkeley High School. Despite Rios himself being “pushed out” of school, over the past 25 years he’s become a best-selling author and expert on the school-to-prison pipeline. 

Now, “The Pushouts” explores how his journey is helping the next generation negotiate a system that seems designed to push them out." The Pushouts premieres Friday, December 20 on PBS, at pbs.org and on the PBS Video App. 

To learn more about the film, visit: www.thepushouts.com/