Pomfret, MD – If they were going to do this — make a short movie about the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center and how it can change lives — they were going to need the right equipment. A Canon TS6 should do it. The camera will give the finished product a more professional look, reasoned Stephen Gilligan, a photography and multimedia production teacher at Stethem. He was asked to create a video centered on the theme, Soar to New Heights, for the National Alternative Education Association’s 2016 Film Awards, and it had to look good.

Lynne Arnold, principal of Stethem, delivered the camera. Now it was up to Gilligan to find students who could produce a two- to five-minute long video or rap showcasing what Stethem offers and how it shapes lives.

Enter Career and Technology Education (CTE) students Jesse Ward, a Henry E. Lackey High School senior studying Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning at Stethem, and Shelby Burgess, a senior at La Plata High School, who goes to Stethem to take digital media classes. Both are in Gilligan’s Photo 2 class.

“I had them the year before and I know what type of students they are,” said Gilligan, who has taught at Stethem for two years. “I knew this was a project they could take on.” The process started in September and was shaping up to be a documentary when Arnold suggested turning it into a narrative. Ideas were brainstormed, scripts were written — rewritten and rewritten. “I told them, ‘Make this movie the way you envision it,’” Gilligan said. Filming started in October on and around campus with the cooperation and involvement of staff and students.

“Working here, the staff is very much willing to help each other out,” Gilligan said. “They were kind of ‘all in.’”

The story focuses on Wade’s character — also named Jesse — whose life is adrift at the start of the film. He doesn’t have much focus or drive, but once he “opts in” and enrolls in the CTE program at Stethem, things start looking up. Burgess, who wants to go into graphic design following graduation, mostly stayed behind the camera, although she shows up at the end of the film as a girl Wade encourages to “opt in” at Stethem. After filming wrapped, the editing process began. The group wanted to tell a story that would represent what Stethem does to help students.

“There is a preconceived notion of what Stethem is,” Gilligan said. “My goal was for people to get rid of those stereotypes. Our students adapt better in a smaller classroom environment. It’s still a school. Teachers teach, students learn.”

“It can change people,” Burgess said. “No matter how you came in, you can come out better.”

“Soar to New Heights” won first place in the NAEA 2016 Film Awards, not bad for the first time the school has entered the contest. Mountain High School in Kaysville, Utah, came in second in the competition with a rap song and Daniel McKee Alternative School in Murfreesboro, Tenn., came in third with a scripted entry.

“Our kids did an amazing job,” Arnold said. “My only expectation was we would submit something, get our foot in the door.” At the national conference held in Florida in March, Arnold said there was “buzz” around Stethem’s entry. 

Arnold said beyond being an entry in a film contest, Stethem’s “Soar to New Heights” will be used to get the word out about the center and its programs. “It’s a powerful tool to use out in the community,” she said, adding that it shines a spotlight on the good being done by Stethem’s students and the school system.

To watch the film, go to http://bit.ly/22zdDDL.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,300 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 36 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.


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