As the school year gets underway, Tavis Smiley tackles the subject of education with a new PBS primetime special that will examine an undeclared crisis in America-the staggering dropout rate among young black males.  “Too Important to Fail,” will air tonight, September 13, 2011, 8:00-9:00 P.M. (EDT) on WGBY.

The online site, www.tooimportanttofail.com, also launches today, developed in partnership with Microsoft and Open Society Foundation’s Campaign for Black Male Achievement.

Tavis Smiley Reports “Too Important to Fail” is part of American Graduate:  Let’s Make It Happen, a public media initiative supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help local communities across America find solutions to address the dropout crisis.

Visit www.pbs.org/tavis/reports for more information on the program and Web-exclusive content.