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The National Press Club hosted a luncheon with the internationally recognized film writer and director, M. Night Shyamalan. Shyamalan has written and directed many movies including The Sixth Sense (1999), which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture. How is this Hollywood superstar related to education reform? Shyamalan recently published a book, I Got Schooled, based solely on empirical data to a solution to close the existing education gap in the United States that exists between the success of students in inner city schools compared to their suburban counter parts.

In 2007, Shyamalan was scouting two schools in Philadelphia as locations for a movie when he came across the horrifying discrepancies that existed in schools. He became intrigued with the issue and spent four years attempting to collect and organize data on the differences in schools.

Inspired by the idea that humans only need to do five basic things to stay healthy for a lifetime, Shyamalan utilized the data he collected to uncover a five-item solution that all schools could implement in be successful in providing a sustainable education for all students. The five things he developed are (1) a loud and consistent culture of strong leadership (2) properly trained teachers (3) consistent data collection on effective practices (4) more time in a school setting, and (5) small schools.

Shyamalan describes that all five factors are necessary, and no one item is sufficient on its own or without another. It is important for principals to spend their time teaching the teachers and utilizing the entire school to maintain a culture of growth, instead of relying one classroom alone to provide a fulfilling education for students. Teachers need to be trained “like a navy seal” in order to be successful in the schools, and currently teachers and principals are being held unfairly accountable when they are not being trained properly.

Students should be spending more time stimulated by school environments in order to close the gap and succeed at the same level as their peers. For example, over the summers, some students are being challenged and improving their skills, while others are falling behind. Lastly, students should be taught in small schools because these changes cannot be made in big schools.

Shyamalan concluded his thoughts with the focus on the fact that we can make every effort to change how schools are developed in order to diminish the achievement gap, but we cannot ignore the messages that inner city kids are receiving outside of their schools about their place in society. There is a collective effort that is needed for the growth and development of students in schools across the country.

Mandy Leiter, CER Intern