by Timothy Rutt
The Pasadena Education Network is getting ready to "Go Public."
"Go Public: A Day in the Life of PUSD" will be a two hour video documentary of one entire day in the Pasadena Unified School District. Fifty small camera crews, including ten crews of PUSD high school students, will follow a wide spectrum of individuals involved with the school district -- as teachers, students, volunteers, principals, even cafeteria workers. All 28 PUSD campuses will be involved in the filming.
According to a release from PEN, "This film will be the story of public school at the moment things are happening. No voice-over narrative and no expert commentaries. By filming over one complete day we will have access to the struggles and resolutions that often occur many times in a day. Through personal stories, Go Public will be a film that articulates the experiences of navigating a typical day in public school."
Each of the fifty crews will put together between 2-4 minutes of footage for the documentary, which will also be available individually online. No date has been set for the completed film. The filming day has been determined, but is being kept under wraps. At least one student from Altadena will be a subject in the film.
According to the PEN release, "This project is important now because too much focus has been placed on what is broken in public school education. There is room for improvement, but we also want to capture the good things that go on every day in our public schools, the teamwork it takes and the textured richness for those involved. By telling the stories of individuals that work and participate in the schools, we will encourage viewers to become informed and compassionate advocates for their community public schools."
PEN is a parent-run public school advocacy organization for PUSD.
