and prepared,” says Langford. He also noticed they became much more willing to open up about their life stories, particularly as the community mentors shared their own experiences. “One of our mentors talked about the number of times he started businesses, and how many times he failed. He kept trying, and learned something new each time, until he finally succeeded,” says Langford. “That led to a great discussion about the power of failure.” In a survey about the program, students overwhelmingly said the program helped them prepare for the future by teaching important life skills. “They’re not the only ones who grew from this,” says Langford. “The teachers and I would all like to do this program again because we gained just as much from it as the students did.” WWW.SHAKER.LIFE | SUMMER 2022 13 “What will the old person inside of you think about the choices you are making today?” “Who are the people on your A-Team?” “What are your SMART Goals for the future?” Every Monday at the Middle School, a group of students gathered to reflect and discuss topics like these as they participated in a mentoring program called M.I.T.: Motivate, Inspire, Teach. The sessions were created and led by Keith Langford, the District’s Family and Community Engagement coordinator, along with four middle school teachers and five community mentors of various professional backgrounds. The Shaker Schools Foundation covered the cost of materials and the speakers’ fees. (See the feature article in this issue on the role M.I.T. plays in the District’s commitment to social/ emotional learning and development.) The sessions were designed to encourage positive thinking, self-reflection, character building, organization, and social skills. Over twelve weeks, Langford saw a big increase in participation among the students, many of whom had previously felt disengaged at school. “On the days we held these sessions, attendance was way up, tardiness went down, and students were more focused Last spring, a group of High School students were huddled in the restroom at the school’s Innovative Center for Personalized Learning (IC), tending to a student with a nosebleed. They weren’t applying first aid, however. They were lighting, recording, filming, and acting in an original short movie based on a script by Colin Burleigh, Class of 2022, called “Nosebleed.” “The script is really personal to me,” says Colin. “It’s a representation of what I experience when I get panic attacks. I thought if I put it out there, maybe someone else will identify with it.” It was all happening under the supervision of their mentor, Marquette Williams, a Los Angeles film producer who now operates his own film production studio, Cinema City, in Cleveland. With funding from the Shaker Schools Foundation, Williams brought his 10-week film curriculum, iFilm 216, to the IC to work with a small group of students interested in filmmaking. Stay Informed: For the latest news and information about Shaker Heights Schools, visit shaker.org. Follow us on Facebook.com/ForShakerSchools or Tweet us @ShakerSchools. M. I. T. at the Middle School: Motivate, Inspire, Teach Dawud Hamzah, a youth motivational speaker and founder of the HYPE program, challenged Middle School students to think critically as part of the M.I.T. (Motivate, Inspire, Teach) program. “This is the real deal,” says Williams, noting that the students are getting to use professional cameras, lighting, recording, and editing equipment. “This is the closest to a real-world experience they could have. It’s very collaborative, and the students have really taken to it.” IC Coordinator Matt Simon, who helped coach the students with their script writing, was impressed with how quickly the students learned all the various aspects of film production. “It’s been a blessing to finally have the equipment, the community partnerships, and the teaching team to bring the IC film program to life and to see our students shine,” says Simon. Monica Boone, a Shaker resident with a background in community theatre, also participated as a mentor. She came to the IC to teach the students about script supervision, which involves ensuring continuity from one scene to the next. “And it’s only year one,” Simon adds. “We can’t wait for what happens with the IC film program in year two.”
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