The New Public

Trying to improve the performance of public schools, New York City has established smaller campuses with various focused curricula designed to excite student imagination. Jyllian Gunther's documentary follows the fortunes of the first class—both students and teachers—at the Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School (BCAM) in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, covering the initial year (2006-07) and then skipping ahead to the fourth, as the original freshman class—or what's left of it—prepares for graduation. The change in attitude is quickly apparent: Principal James O'Brien has grown considerably less ebullient even by the end of the first year, and three years later seems to be much more pragmatic about what is possible. The same can be said of English teacher Kevin Greer, while other instructors have simply moved on by 2010. Some originally enthusiastic students have also departed by senior year, while others—and their disappointed parents—are far less optimistic about the future. The imposition of increasingly rigorous academic standards to meet state requirements has also fomented discontent. But there are definite success stories here, such as the young man with an ill mother who, following a stack of rejection letters, is finally accepted into college. And the film closes with a note that BCAM's graduation rate had climbed to 74% by 2012—marking a huge improvement over the regional norm. Serving up an incisive portraits of students, teachers, administrators, and parents, The New Public offers a perceptive, honest, and ultimately hopeful glimpse inside the workings of an experimental public school. Recommended. (F. Swietek)