SEEING STARS: A Brief Summary

WHAT’S IT ABOUT
“Seeing Stars” (working title) is a documentary inspired by the STAR testing that is an integral part of the No Child Left Behind program. “Seeing Stars” will explore the success rate and impact of the STAR standardized testing and other factors shaping the current state of public education in America like school district demographics, budgets, governmental influence, and approaches towards teaching.

WHO’S IN IT
“Seeing Stars” will include three case studies: an elementary school, a junior high/ middle school, and a high school in Oakland Unified School District and San Francisco Unified School District. “Seeing Stars” will take an insider’s look at public education through interviews with students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members; and by empowering youths to influence how their story is told in preproduction and to participating in the filmmaking during production.

WHO’S DIRECTING IT
Award winning documentary filmmaker and Bay Area native, Kamala Appel will be directing this investigative documentary. She is the product of Bay Area public schools grades K-12 and a graduate of Yale University and USC’s School of Cinema Television. She is also an educator, currently a part time faculty member at DeAnza Community College in Cupertino.

OUR REQUEST TO YOU AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW:
1. Please write a letter in support of the project and the team so that we can present letters to potential funders. We especially need letters from educators, parents, member of the business community, politicians, students, and filmmakers who would support this project and appreciate its value. We are trying to obtain at least fifty (50) from a diverse group of people by August 31st- so ask everyone you know to write one too. It may help to include your position/occupation, where you reside (i.e. where you pay taxes), if you attended public schools, and if you know me (Kamala Appel) or someone who does. It would probably help to use letter head, if appropriate.

To view a SAMPLE LETTER, click on the link or go to:
http://www.keaproductionsdv.com/stars/starletter.html

LETTERS SHOULD BE SENT TO THE FOLLOWING:
Kamala Appel
c/o KEA Productions
PO Box 6054
Albany, CA 94706

2. We are also looking for no to low cost venues and food sponsors to make donations so that we can host fundraising events in the fall of 2005.

I certainly would like to see improving public education become a priority and I am contacting you because I believe that you do too.
For more info, email [email protected].