An independent filmmaker highlights gifted students of San Luis
An independent filmmaker from San Francisco traveled all the way to San Luis to answer one question; who gets to be gifted in America and why?
Marc Smolowitz is the director and executive producer at 13th Gen, the company behind a documentary called The G Word.
Smolowitz believes every American has an education story.
Through this feature documentary, he plans to open a national dialogue on how race, class, and zip code all influence your education story.
However, with proper support, Smolowitz believes any student can still succeed.
But why San Luis?
Smolowitz wants to dismiss the national narrative of illegal immigration surrounding border towns, and reveal how San Luis is actually a community that values education and has invested in its students in unprecedented ways.
13th Gen started production of the documentary last year, going to several schools within the Gadsden School District.
What stood out most about the Gadsden School District, is how they use music and arts to expose and excite students to master subjects like math and science.
The secret is in their leadership.
“Mr. Chavez is the guidance counselor at Southwest Junior High School and its men like him who many years ago began the leadership of the school district. [He] really had these kinds of epiphanies that if they provide certain support, their students can succeed” said Smolowitz.
Students in this school district are taking the ACT as early as the 5th grade and are attending advanced learning summer courses around the country.
Not only are the students from San Luis attending these advanced programs, but are also competing with some of the top ten districts in the nation.
Essentially, Smolowitz discovered that gifted people reside everywhere.
They may not look, sound, or behave as you think.
But once they recognize their self-worth, their potential is limitless.
The G Word Documentary is currently in production and is expected to be released in December of 2020.
To support the project, you can visit their Kickstarter campaign to donate and receive updates on the production.
