“Class of Her Own” Screening

A film screening followed by discussion with Director Boraz Divr.

“Class of Her Own” explores how a Florida teacher used innovative methods such as hip-hop, rap and dance to teach her students math and reading. The film tells the story of teacher Gloria Jean Merriex and her work at Duval Elementary School in Gainesville, Florida. The school was severely underperforming and underprivileged and scored an F on its state’s high-stakes standardized tests, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), in 2002. Within the following school year, Merriex changed her teaching methods completely and got her students to score an A in 2003.

Boaz Dvir is an associate professor of Journalism at Penn State. He teaches journalism, directs and produces documentaries, and directs the Hammel Family Human Rights Initiative and the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative. An award-winning filmmaker, Dvir tells the stories of ordinary people who, under extraordinary circumstances, transform into trailblazers who change the world around them.