The Axle: With State College Area elementary schools possibly extending the school day by 30 to 40 minutes, I want to talk to parents and psychologists about how they feel this would work out.
The Riders: Like I mentioned above, I want to have parents of elementary school children and psychologists tell the story. I’m sure psychologists have done studies on how lengthening the school day benefits or impedes the education of young children. Most elementary school kids probably don’t have the attention span to stay engaged throughout the day as it is and I’d like to see what professional psychologists have to say about this. Parents might have their own reasons for being in favor or against an extended school day, so it would be nice to get their take. State College Area School District superintendent Bob O’Donnell I’m sure has a strong opinion on the situation so I would also reach out to him, as well as assistant superintendent Jason Perrin.
The Spokes: Most of the B-Roll would have to be of students in the classroom while the teacher is conducting a lesson. I want to show how students are currently responding to their teachers and give the audience an idea of what their classroom experience is like. If students are engaged and appear to be processing what the teacher is conveying, this may show that there’s no need to change the current school hours. On the other hand, if it doesn’t look as though they’re taking in the information the way they should, maybe they’re onto something by adding 30-40 minutes to the day. I expect to capture this with close-ups of the students, so of course I’d need to have the consent of their parents first. I’ll also make sure to get different shots inside numerous school buildings for B-Roll during SOT’s and VO’s.
The Rim:
Beginning: Describe what’s going on in a short VO to start. I’d mention how there’s talk about possibly extending the school day in the State College Area School District that could take effect as early as fall 2016. Then I’ll transition into the SOT’s from the two superintendents I speak with and have them talk about why they good will come out of this.
Middle: At this point I’ll show the professional psychologists talking about what kind of impact an extended school day would have. I want to get multiple experts to chime in because one might have done some research that the others haven’t. I’ll show the students in the classroom as B-Roll.
End: Ideally I’ll end things with a powerful SOT from a parent of an elementary school student. It doesn’t matter to me if they’re against or in favor of the extended school hours, as long as they have a strong opinion so that the viewers can feel their emotion.