NRH TV Special Report
February 2, 2011, 11:00AM PST
Video: Mitch Bennett, from the NRH news desk.
Mitch Bennett: In the wake of mid-semester grade reports and student performance on standardized tests showing that New Ridgemont High students are leading the state, California governor Jerry Brown has issued a mandate to create two more high schools based on the NRH model. After a brief period in which applications were submitted and considered, it was announced that Berkeley High School and Skyline High School in Oakland had been awarded the Special Charter, with a tentative opening date of September 8, 2012
Whether or not this ambitious target is met depends not just on how quickly the Berkeley and Oakland Unified Districts can implement the core elements of the model — an enormous task in itself, involving curriculum, technology, and administrative and physical infrastructure — but on whether the respective communities can recreate a 1980s environment in local businesses, media, and law enforcement. In a recent speech to the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, William Friedman, the creator and Principal of New Ridgemont High, discussed this crucial element of the NRH model.
Cut to video of William Friedman, at the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. He is responding to questions from a packed audience.
William Friedman: Put succinctly, we don’t know the precise reasons for the current problems we are experiencing with our youth. We can point to any number of plausible causes, but in all likelihood, the social and psychological problems we are seeing are the result of some combination of them, working in tandem. Addressing one or even several of them in isolation is unlikely to succeed in addressing this challenge.
Current trends in school administration — the rules of the schools, so to speak — are one likely cause. The standard curriculum is another. But these only scratch the surface. The ubiquity of social media and its effects on socialization; the inordinate attention paid to youth by law enforcement and the draconian punishments we have in place; media and popular culture; they all have a role to play. And they all must be addressed in a coordinated fashion if we are to have any hope of dealing with the situation. That’s what Social Immersion Theory tells us, and it’s the foundation on which the New Ridgemont High experiment was built.
Man in audience: But have you considered the economic impact of what you’re proposing? Ridgemont is just one city, in a very large state. Now we add Berkeley and Oakland. Presumably, if they’re successful, the idea is to extend the model to even more schools, which means to even more cities and towns. How can California survive on what will be, essentially, a retro-economy? The public subsidies will have to be astronomical.
Friedman: I reject your underlying premise. We are engaged in a social science experiment, not a reconfiguration of every school in California. The model has to be implemented in a representative enough sample of school districts to produce any really fruitful data, and the current expansion will go a long way towards that goal. My hope is that once we have that data, we’ll be able to narrow the variables and determine which of the apparent causes are the really crucial ones. At that point, we can shift to more modest reforms, which can be implemented within the high schools and districts we have now.
Man in Audience: How many more are you thinking about, then?
Friedman: Ten, maybe twelve. I can’t say for sure at this point.
Another Man in Audience: [Shouts] That’s almost a fifth of the total number of high schools in the State!
Friedman: Of the independent districts, yes, but that number doesn’t include the Unified districts, so it’s really a much smaller percentage than that.
The room erupts into noisy conversation.
Friedman: [Holds up his hands] Ladies and gentlemen, please, one at a time. You’ll all get a chance.
Cut back to Mitch Bennett in the NRH TV studios.
Mitch: Heading the media outreach effort, NRH Board Members John Hughes and Richard Linklater have taken to the airwaves, appearing on local television and radio stations to raise support among the Berkeley and Oakland residential and business communities. At the ground level, the work is literally a business by business, residence by residence affair, requiring dozens of outreach workers and advisors. Antonio Bruno, owner and proprietor of Tony’s Pizzeria, a popular lunch spot with NRH students, has been coordinating advisory efforts with Berkeley and Oakland businesses, and Steven Gold, noted LA attorney and father of NRH Student Body President, Chloe Gold, has been conducting seminars with local neighborhood and residents’ associations.
The task of advising Oakland and Berkeley students falls to several NRH student teams, selected by the New Ridgemont High Student Executive Council and charged with consulting with Berkeley and Skyline student leaders on every area of student affairs and student life. A similar group, made up of NRH teachers and administrators, will advise their counterparts on curricular and administrative matters.
NRH TV spent several days following the student advisory teams, and the following report comes to you live from NRH TV Chief Correspondent, Nicole Parker. Nicole.
Cut to Nicole Parker, reporting from the student lounge at Skyline High School in Oakland. Standing next to her are Denise Diamond and Valerie Saunders amidst a boisterous throng of Skyline students. Visible in the background are Lee Lindberg and Kevin Reilly.
Nicole: [Loudly, one hand cupped over her ear] Nicole Parker, reporting live from Skyline High School. Can you hear me in the middle of all this?
The camera pans behind her to a particularly noisy group of Skyline students who become even louder when they see they’re being filmed.
Mitch: [Laughing] We can hear you just fine, Nicole. What’s going on over there?
Nicole: Earlier this morning, Tom Rosen, New Ridgemont High Student Body Vice President, spent over two hours with Skyline students, faculty, administrators, and staff, discussing the details of the transition to the NRH model. Needless to say, the students were happy with what they heard. [Turns back to the crowd of Skyline students who erupt with another round of hooting and whistling]
Mitch: What were some of the points that elicited the greatest response among the students?
Nicole: [To a girl, next to her] I know, right? [To the camera] What was that Mitch? I didn’t get that.
Mitch: To which parts of Tom’s presentation did the students react the most positively?
Nicole: [Pushes the girl off gently, whispering something to her, then turns back to the camera] The open campus and the free periods definitely provoked the biggest and most enthusiastic response.
Boy in the crowd: [At the top of his lungs] They raawwwwkkk!!!
Mitch: I see what you mean, Nicole.
Nicole: They’re excited about being able to hang out with each other during the school day without a structured activity or supervision.
Mitch: What else caught students’ attention?
Nicole: The lack of security cameras or police. These kids have spent their entire lives under surveillance, so it means a lot to them.
Mitch: Anything else that stands out?
Nicole: Yes, there was one other thing that really got the Skyline students going and that’s the party schedule. [Gestures towards Valerie and Denise] I have Valerie Saunders and Denise Diamond here with me from the NRH Social Committee, and for the last several days they’ve been consulting with Skyline student leaders on how to party 1980s style. So, how’s it been going, girls?
Denise: [Eagerly] Freaking awesome!
Nicole: Well, yes, but perhaps you could fill in our audience on some of the details.
Valerie: What everyone needs to remember is that there were a lot more official school parties back in the 1980s then you have today. In addition to Prom, you had at least two seasonal formal dances, an incoming Freshman party, a Senior Party, a Halloween party, a Homecoming party, a Spring Fling, and of course, Stage Night.
Nicole: That’s a lot of parties.
Valerie: Yeah, and the schools today are totally incapable of throwing them..
Nicole: Why is that?
Valerie: I’d say the main reason is financial. Today, a party schedule like that would be a budget-buster.
Nicole: So, the lack of parties is due to school budget cuts?
Valerie: No. Even adjusted for inflation and population growth, the school budgets today are larger than they were in the 80s. It’s the percentage of the budget that’s taken up by insurance. A busy, happening party scene sends your liability costs through the roof.
Nicole: How have you guys overcome that obstacle?
Denise: Not a clue.
Valerie: I won’t pretend that I understand all the details, but we’ve been working pretty closely with Dr. Friedman on this particular problem. It’s one of the few things we really couldn’t handle on our own, because it involves dealing directly with the insurance companies. In fact, we didn’t know whether it was even gonna’ happen at all, until the very last minute, because Dr. Friedman was still in negotiations with one of the insurers. He obviously worked something out, though, because the night before we were scheduled to go to Berkeley, he called and gave us the green light.
Nicole: So, back to the subject of the parties themselves.
Denise: They’re gonna’ be freaking awesome!
Nicole: I think our audience has gotten that.
Valerie: We’ve been trying to get them up to speed on everything, Nic, and there are a million details. Decorations, music, food and drinks. Advertising. I mean, how do you get people to come to these things without social media? Even clothes…kids used to really dress up for some of these gigs.
Nicole: Period clothing is a big part of the New Ridgemont High experience.
Denise: [Interrupting] Well, ya! Duh! You think I’d have a perm and be wearing frosted Guess Jeans and Capezios if it wasn’t?
Nicole: What I was going to ask was whether you two have been advising on clothes, beyond just party attire.
Denise: Oh! Sorry! Uh, yeah! I mean, who else would you ask about fashion? Like, hello, we are the Star Cr…
Valerie: [Stepping in front of Denise] Even though our formal charge from the Council is to consult on the social calendar, Dr. Friedman has asked us to take on the job of advising both the Berkeley and Skyline students on everyday school clothes. We have a number of people helping us on that front, though, so all the various constituencies will be represented.
Denise: A big mistake, if you ask me. I mean, why would anyone want to dress like some greaser?
Nicole: Valerie Saunders and Denise Diamond, thank you so much for speaking with us today!
Denise: Oh! Right. You’re, uh, welcome!
Valerie: Thanks for having us!
Nicole: [To the camera] Of course, the New Ridgemont High model isn’t just about parties or clothes but encompasses every area of student life, whether academic or extracurricular. One such area is school media, of which broadcasts like this one are just one part, and another is vocational education, involving substantial investment into several fully stocked shops and an entire curriculum of skilled-trades classes.
Lee and Kevin make their way through the crowd until they are flanking Nicole.
Nicole: Standing with me, now, are Lee Lindberg and Kevin Reilly, who have been charged with consulting Berkeley and Skyline students on a number of these areas. So, I gather that you guys are wearing a bunch of different hats.
Kevin: [Grinning] You could say that I have many talents.
Nicole: Now, Kevin, you coordinate all of the vocational-ed related stuff, right?
Kevin: Right.
Nicole: And what does that involve?
Kevin: Auto-shop; carpentry; basic electrical work and major appliance repair, also known as “HVAC.”
Nicole: How many of these programs did Berkley and Skyline already have and to what capacity?
Kevin: Nothing. Zip. Nada. We’ve had to start completely from scratch.
Nicole: That must be an enormous job.
Kevin: [Laughs] Yeah, it is. We spent two days just receiving and installing equipment. And we’ll probably have to stay here another week after everyone else has gone, if we’re going to work through the curriculum, safety protocols, and all the rest.
Nicole: What’s the reaction been like?
Kevin: Fu…freaking amazing. A lot of kids want this stuff, and the adults seem pretty happy about it, too. They know what this economy looks like and how much starting salaries are in these trades. The classes are gonna’ be packed.
Nicole: Let’s bring Lee Lindberg into this discussion. I gather that you’ve been working primarily in the computer labs.
Lee: Well, technically, Mitch Bennett has oversight over all the tech-media stuff, but we try to reserve his special genius for the really big, complicated tasks. My job is to get all the computers, modems, disc drives, printers, etc., unpacked, installed and tested. Also, to train students how to be techs with this kind of equipment, ‘cause once school starts, they’ll have to be able to run, fix, and maintain it themselves.
Nicole: So, between the two schools, you’re talking about hundreds of pieces of equipment.
Lee: Try thousands. I mean, the whole school basically has to be rewired for the tech we’re installing. The existing cables, wires, junctions are the wrong size, the wrong voltage, the wrong everything.
Nicole: So, this is as big of a job as the one Kevin’s got on his hands.
Lee: Totally. I do have two of our best techs working on it — Brian Millman and Lance Donaldson — but it’s still a crazy amount of work. Let’s just say, we’ll be here as long as Kevin and his crew are.
Nicole: I also understand that the two of you are working together on a project.
Lee: I’m in charge of the radio station, and Kevin hosts one of our programs.
Kevin: [Very pleased with himself] Your most popular program.
Nicole: What’s the program?
Kevin: Metal, baby! METAL! [Does devil horns on both hands and gives a wicked cackle]
Nicole: [Staring at him] Like, wow.
Lee: [Coolly] Kevin and Marty Savini air a metal show several times a week, and yes, it is our highest rated program. They’ve taken over the peak slots.
Nicole: So what kind of music do you play, Kevin?
Kevin: [With gravity] Old school, Nicole. Sabbath. Priest. Deep Purple.
Nicole: Sounds rocking.
Kevin: [Vigorously] And we can’t forget the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
Nicole: We can’t?
Kevin: Hell, no! Iron Maiden? Diamond Head? Angel Witch?
Nicole: No, we definitely can’t forget those.
Kevin: [Suddenly suspicious] Wait, you’re not making fun of me, are you?
Lee: [Leaning into the camera] We have a broad selection of programming on the station, Nicole. Stacey Singer and Joanne Genduso are doing a punk and post-punk show twice a week, and [his speech slows, as if he is suddenly having trouble forming simple words] Denise Diamond and…uh…Erica Carlson do a New Wave and New Romantic show every Wednesday night. [Almost mournfully] That one’s almost as highly rated as the Metal show.
Kevin: Gah! You never told me that! What the fu…?!
Nicole: [Brightly] Well, there you have it Mitch. Just a glimpse of the incredible work being done by NRH students, on behalf of their Berkeley and Skyline brothers and sisters. [Points at the camera, cocks her hip, wrinkles her nose, and winks sexily] Back to you and everyone else at the News Desk!
The camera cuts back to Mitch in the studio.
Mitch: Thanks, Nicole! We’re going to break now for several brief announcements and then return, with our final story.
Laurie calls “Cut!” and Mitch relaxes, removing his earpiece.
Mitch: [Rubbing his face] How do you think that went?
Laurie: Fantastic, Mitch. Really good.
Mitch: [Looking suddenly like he’s aged fifteen years] I guess. You got a pen and paper handy?
Laurie: [Pulls a pen from behind her ear and brandishes a yellow pad] Yessir.
Mitch: Then, take this down. [Puts his feet up on the desk and begins counting off items] One: under no circumstances is Denise Diamond ever to appear on our cameras again.
Laurie: Ixne Denise Diamond. Check.
Mitch: Two. No more sexy reporting.
Laurie: I thought Nicole did a great job.
Mitch: I can’t have my reporters acting like Ginger Lynn.
Laurie: She’s like, sixty or something Mitch.
Mitch: You know what I mean.
Laurie: No porny reporting. Got it.
Mitch: And anyone who even dreams about appearing on any of our programs reads and signs a document, outlining NRH TV’s acceptable-language policy.
Laurie: We don’t have an acceptable-language policy.
Mitch: You’re going to write one.
Laurie: Write “No cursing on NRH TV” policy. Si.
Mitch: [Wearily] I think that’s it. Did you catch that little shot Lee got in?
Laurie: Mitch Bennett’s “Special Genius”? Yeah, I caught that. You gonna say something?
Mitch: No. It’ll just encourage him to do it more. Otherwise, he was fine. He even headed off a potential Kevin Reilly meltdown.
Laurie: Agreed. [Looks at the clock] Thirty seconds, until the next segment. Cameras, get ready for a ten second countdown.
Mitch sighs, removes his feet from the desk, and puts the earpiece back in. Sits up, straight, and slicks his hair back with his hands.
Laurie: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6…
Mitch: Welcome back. After a brief “honeymoon period,” voices of opposition to the New Ridgemont High Project are appearing across California’s political landscape. What began mostly as scattered objections to the project’s potential economic effects by local chambers of commerce has developed into a more substantial political opposition, at whose heart lies what can only be described as intense apprehension. From State legislators representing California’s most conservative districts to traditionalist parents groups and family-values organizations, critics belonging to the “Citizens for Character in California” are pushing to repeal the Governor’s mandate and revoke all existing Special School Charters, including the one given to New Ridgemont High. Chief spokeswoman for the group and aspiring Assemblywoman, Shirley Putsis, made the following remarks on the steps of the Santa Ana City Council building, to a large crowd of activists.
Cut to Shirley Putsis, speaking from a podium.
Shirley Putsis: Leave it to so-called “progressives” to want to turn back the clock; to return us to the days when our schools were unsafe, and when we allowed malcontents, troublemakers and delinquents to undermine our children’s ability to learn.
A loud cheer goes up from the crowd.
Shirley Putsis: Have these people forgotten Thurston? Columbine? Newton? Have they forgotten why our schools partnered with law enforcement in the first place? Do they want the blood from another school massacre on their hands?
Woman in audience: Murderers!!!
Shirley Putsis: Do they want our children pushed into the arms of drug dealers, gang bangers, and predators?
Man in Audience: Degenerates!
Shirley Putsis: Do they want our kids to think that they should be ashamed of their country? That we’re racists and warmongers? That they should always side with the other guy, instead of with the good ol’ USA?
Another man in the audience: Damned liberals!
Shirley Putsis: [Holds up her hands] Because that’s exactly what’s going to happen if we continue with this sick experiment; this “idea” hatched up in the ivory towers of our so-called “institutions of higher learning.” A return to the 1980s means more drugs, more crime, and more teen pregnancy. It means teaching trash like this [brandishes a copy of Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”] and obsessing over Vietnam, Watergate, and Kent State. It means yet another generation of our children brainwashed into the 1960s liberal mindset.
Woman in Audience: You tell ‘em Shirley!!
Shirley Putsis: We’re hearing rumors about it already from their flagship school, New Ridgemont High. Kids drinking on campus, smoking on campus, doing drugs on campus [her voice raises to a piercing shriek], having sex on campus!
Loud gasps and mutterings.
Shirley Putsis: And what is William Friedman doing about this outrageous situation? Nothing. He’s from New York and was educated at the most left-wing school in America, the “New School for Social Research.” He’d like nothing more than for our kids to become a bunch of drug-addled, sex-crazed, America-hating hippies.
An ugly titter runs through the crowd.
Shirley Putsis: [Wags her finger] Well I have news for Dr. Friedman and his supporters. Those may be New York values, but they’re not Orange County values, and they damned well shouldn’t be California values!
Man in Audience: SHHHIIIIRRRRLLLEEEYYY!!!!
Shirley Putsis: That’s why we’re putting a stop to this madness right now; why good, hardworking, patriotic people of faith across California are saying “Enough is enough! We’re taking our schools back from the liberals and the communists and anyone else who wants to hurt our kids!”
The crowd roars.
Shirley Putsis: So, I hope you’ll all join me in Sacramento next week, when we put our case to the Governor and to the State Assembly. [Raises three fingers] Rescind! Revoke! Reject!
Audience: [By now whipped up to a feverish pitch] Rescind! Revoke! Reject!
Cut back to Mitch Bennett, in the studio.
Mitch Bennett: We’ll have more for you, on this emerging story, in future broadcasts, and you can find more extensive coverage in this week’s Standard. Thank you for watching. This is Mitch Bennett, signing off.
Laurie Price: Cut!
Silence reigns over the newsroom, as Mitch slumps back in his seat. Laurie kicks the base of the nearest camera. She is crying.
