“The Bad Kids,” a documentary about Black Rock High School in Yucca Valley, CA, plays at the M.V. Film Center for one night on Monday, August 15. It is a compelling look at how one educational institution helps at-risk students earn their degrees. Co-director Keith Fulton will participate in a post-screening Q&A session via Skype.
The film’s title is a misnomer in the sense that the teenagers it spotlights are anything but “bad.” They are struggling, but committed to earning their diplomas despite poverty, homelessness, drug addiction, pregnancy, abuse, and neglect. “The Bad Kids” won a 2016 Sundance Special Jury Prize for verité filmmaking and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Verité means no voiceovers, no interviews, no outside experts, no data on educational trends — just Frederick Wiseman style fly-on-the-wall filmmaking.
Black Rock is one of 500 alternative “continuation” schools in California, offering 11th and 12th grade students who need it a “last chance” to graduate. Vonda Viland, Black Rock’s principal, is an important adult in the lives of these 120 adolescents. A passionately devoted educator, she calls some students in the morning to make sure they get up and come to school. She greets all of them every morning as they arrive. She gives them pep talks, keeps track of the credits they need, and dispenses hugs as well as no-nonsense supervision. The team of teachers must cope with the stress of dealing with their vulnerable and needy students.
One especially hard case is 17-year-old Joey McGee. A talented musician, his commitment to graduating is off-and-on. Before coming to Black Rock, he burglarized houses, and he must report to a probation officer. With a mother who uses meth and a stepfather in prison, he often ends up sleeping at friends’ houses or bus stations. It’s not clear if he’s doing drugs himself, and Ms. Viland works to keep track of him. When he does show up at school, he often puts his head on his desk and sleeps. Eighteen-year-old Lee Bridges has already fathered a son with his girlfriend Layla Schneider. Frequently on the verge of dropping out, he finds himself overwhelmed by his responsibilities. Jennifer Coffield’s parents have abandoned her, and she lives with her impoverished grandmother.
Black Rock sits on the edge of the Mojave Desert, and filmmakers Fulton and Lou Pepe lighten the grim realities of its students’ lives with beautiful shots of the area’s scenery. “The day you finish is the last day you come to school,” Ms. Viland says, although some students are afraid to leave the school’s safe and supportive environment. When they do graduate, Ms. Viland marches them proudly down a hallway lined with other students.
Black Rock may address the needs of only a few teenagers who might otherwise never finish high school, but it provides a sterling example of how to help them.
For tickets and more information, visit mvfilmsociety.com.