UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Freestyle Digital Media, which is part of Entertainment Studios in Los Angeles, will distribute a documentary about a highly innovative teacher directed and produced by a Penn State faculty filmmaker.
The film, “Class of Her Own,” focuses on Gloria Jean Merriex, who used call and response, dance, hip-hop and other approaches to help revive Duval Elementary School in East Gainesville, Florida. The 86-minute documentary will be released April 16.
“It’s an honor to tell Gloria’s incredible story,” said director and producer Boaz Dvir, an associate professor of journalism in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. “She’s impacted my own teaching and I hope that through this documentary, she can inspire teachers around the country to meet their students where they are and help them succeed in school and beyond.”
View the trailer for "A Class of Her Own"
A Black single mother of two, Merriex spent her entire career teaching in the economically challenged neighborhood where she grew up. When her school failed Florida’s high stakes standardized tests in 2002, district leaders pressed teachers to more closely follow the curriculum.
Merriex, who taught third and fourth grade reading and fifth grade math, instead created a custom curriculum. She introduced movement and music and infused lessons with dance, hip-hope and more.
Duval Elementary School rose from a failing grade in 2002 to an A in 2003 — and the school maintained that level of academic excellence for what remained of Merriex’s career. With support from school leaders, she subsequently shared her approaches with colleagues and parents who wanted to reinforce the learning at home or just keep up with their children.
For the next four years, Merriex, a diabetic who at one point collapsed on her classroom floor and ended up in the hospital, kept the school at the top of the state’s grading system. In addition, she created a team that traveled around the South presenting her methods at schools and conferences. Many of her students went on to attend college — all as first-generation students.
Dvir, who previously worked at the University of Florida, created the compelling documentary by interviewing Merriex’s colleagues, students and family, as well as scholars who studied her.
Dvir is an award-winning writer-director-producer. He tells the stories of ordinary people who, under extraordinary circumstances, transform into trailblazers who change the world around them.
Along with “Class of Her Own,” his documentaries include “How Special Ops Became Central to the War on Terror” (2017), “A Wing and a Prayer” (2015) and “Jessie’s Dad” (2011). His films have been distributed by PBS, Amazon Prime, Google Play, HULU, the New York Times and other outlets.
Dvir wrote the critically acclaimed, nonfiction book, “Saving Israel” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020) and has written for many publications, including the Jerusalem Post, Newsday, the Miami Herald, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, among others. He also directs Penn State’s Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative and the Hammel Family Human Rights Initiative.