"Make the Grade", a new show about schools on the North Shore, begins airing at 7:30 pm. Wednesday on the Southeastern Channel.

The debut episode will also air at 12:30 pm. Thursday on the channel, Southeastern Louisiana University’s educational cable access channel on Charter Cable Channel 18.

"The Southeastern Channel is committed to fostering the growth of education on the North Shore," said channel general manager Rick Settoon. "This new show will spotlight area schools and address key education issues that affect North Shore residents. We’ll also highlight exciting new projects and programs at local schools."

The program is produced and hosted by Corey Broman-fulks, a reporter, producer and anchor for the Southeastern Channel who anchors the news segments "Northshore Updates" and "Southeastern Updates", supervises the student news program "Northshore News", and hosts the coach’s show, "Lion Tracks."

Broman-fulks believes "Make the Grade" serves an important purpose for area viewers.

"Education is a hot-button topic on the North Shore," Broman-fulks said. "People have questions, and we want to help them get answers. By bringing on the most important people in education, we can discuss directly what people want to know."

"We don’t tip-toe around the important issues," he continued. "We discuss them and try to figure out how the school leaders are trying to improve education."

The first episode will feature an interview with Mark Kolwe, Tangipahoa Parish school superintendent, who talks about the status of education in the parish, including LEAP testing and the magnet school program.

A roundtable examination of the magnet program looks at the program’s goals, progress and impact on education in the parish. Panelists include magnet program coordinator Nancy Kropog, Hammond Eastside School lead teacher Sue Courtney, and Cheryl Rousseau, the lead teacher for Hammond Westside School.

"Taxpayers are paying for the (magnet) program," Broman-fulks said. "They deserve to know if their money is working."

The Southeastern Channel has won over 60 national and international awards in its five years of existence. The channel can be seen on Charter Cable Channel 18 in Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Livingston parishes and on Channel 17 in Washington Parish. A live 24-hour webcast can be seen at www.selu.edu/tv.