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.
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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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