Oyler

Gr 9 Up—A chronicle of a year at Oyler School, located in Cincinnati's most economically challenged neighborhood. Committed staff, led by principal Craig Hockenberry, have created a preschool to grade 12 facility that has become a community center, serving three meals daily and equipped with a free medical clinic open until 10 p.m. Hockenberry takes a personal approach to helping students succeed, and he can be found walking the streets of the neighborhood on many days, searching for truant kids and encouraging them to come back to school, where students are exposed to positive ideas about their futures. During the principal's five-year tenure, graduation rates for kids from the neighborhood have increased dramatically, but test scores have not, and, ultimately, Hockenberry's contract is not renewed. The film follows two students who overcame adversity, graduated, and went on to college, and this is where the film will inspire students. Raven Gribbins's family life has been problematic, marked by addiction and incarceration. Viewers will root for her as she channels her anger into volleyball and keeps her eyes on the prize of being the first in her family to graduate from high school and to attend college. This film gives an unsentimental view of how a committed, innovative school can transform a community, and it will spark discussions about how schools can better meet the needs of students and prepare them for success, despite bureaucracy and poverty.