K/1st Grade Child with Down Syndrome from Go Public on Vimeo.
Rosie's video on Go Public.
by Timothy Rutt
"Go Public," the project to record a day in the life of the Pasadena Unified School District, went live Wednesday night when 50 short films became available to watch online at the website.
On May 8 of this year, 50 film crews -- everyone from experienced filmmakers to students -- spread out to all the schools in PUSD to record a day in the life of their subjects. The subjects of the minidocumentaries included students, teachers, administrators, school psychologists, and many more examples of the people who make public education tick.
The brainchild of producers James W. and Dawn O'Keeffe, they say in their mission statement:
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.
Among the Altadena subjects: Whitney Reese, a teacher at Jackson Elementary; Maura Large, librarian at Eliot Middle School; Gloria Reynolds, volunteer at Altadena Elementary; Gustavo Alonzo, student at Eliot; Esther Chun, teacher at Franklin Elementary; Samantha Gale, student volunteer at Altadena Elementary; and Altadena resident Rosie Rutt, student at Sierra Madre Elementary. (We had a look at Rosie's filming day here).
The eventual plan is to combine the 50 stories into a single two-hour film.
