The Bad Kids

Gr 9 Up—Black Rock Continuation High School is an alternative school located in a rural section of California's Mojave Desert. This is the "last chance school" for 11th and 12th graders who are slipping through the cracks. Dedicated staff members work hard to teach, guide, and, most especially, encourage their students to take an active role in their own education and future. The production follows several students through the year, and viewers get to know them and the challenges they face. These teens are familiar with parole officers, come from troubled families, and are dealing with parents in prison, having children, and sexual and drug abuse. There are a lot of issues in their lives that would seem to have a priority over education, survival being one of them. The staff, however, works hard to help them succeed. The principal and teachers are caring adults, and they demand accountability. It is also clear that the dedicated teachers pay a high emotional cost; there are both successes and failures. While there is joy, there is also despair. (The program includes profanity, especially toward the end as students struggle to graduate.)