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Top student makes film to help curb dropouts

Photo from CTTV

Kari Holbrook produced a documentary aimed at curbing school dropouts.

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 1, 2009

Kari Holbrook says she wanted to do something about the high dropout rate in schools.

A 19-year-old graduate of Hillsborough High School, Holbrook has always been a star student with multiple interests and talents.

And before she headed off to Gainesville this fall for her freshman year at the University of Florida, she produced a 15-minute documentary "Dropping Back In: One Dropout's Transformation," which is airing this month on the City of Tampa's government cable channel (CTTV).

Her film follows a 16-year-old dropout's attempt to change her life by getting a General Education Diploma (GED).

Holbrook was given a chance to produce the TV special for CTTV as part of the Youth Leadership Council. She decided to also use the special as her project for the Girl Scout Gold Award.

The film also will be shown at an upcoming Tampa Dropout Prevention Summit on Oct. 22, sponsored by the Children's Board of Hillsborough County and America's Promise Alliance, a national partnership of corporations, nonprofits, faith-based organizations and advocacy groups that work to improving lives of children.

"It was an issue that hit home for me," says Holbrook, who spent the past two years working on the city of Tampa Television's teen news program "From the Corps," a monthly program presented by the Mayor's Youth Corps.

The Mayor's Youth Corps encourages teens to participate in community service projects, leadership development activities and the production of a monthly television show.

"We did all kinds of stories from serious topics affecting young people to fun topics like showing school spirit," says Holbrook.

Two of her mentors, Mayor's Youth Corps Advisor Rebecca Heimstead and CTTV Producer/Director Frank Crum, encouraged her to tackle the dropout issue.

"The dropout rate is really high and I wanted to show how someone could overcome problems and still get an education," she says.

According to the Alliance, nearly one in three U.S. high school students fails to graduate with a diploma. Approximately 1.2 million students drop out each year – averaging 7,000 every school day.

Holbrook's "Dropping Back In" focuses on a 16-year-old dropout named Amy who had a history of problems relating to teachers and fellow students. After transferring between four separate middle schools, Amy decided to call it quits at age 13.

"She had a lot of reasons why she dropped out, that I think anyone can identify with," says Holbrook. "She had social issues, was coming from a single parent home where the dad really wasn't that involved, and so she didn't have that encouragement along the way."

When interviewed for the documentary, Amy was enrolled in a General Education Diploma (GED) program which would allow her to re-enter the student population.

Holbrook says that since then, Amy has successfully earned her GED. "She also is a member of Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo's Eco-Program and wants to work with animals," Holbrook says.

Amy plans to attend Hillsborough Community College and then attain her undergraduate degree at the University of South Florida.

Deanna Toothman, GED Program Teacher at Chamberlain High School, who helped Holbrook with the documentary, says the film shows how a little bit of success can make a difference. "If they can feel good about themselves, everything changes," she says. "It's not just their academic career. It's their whole self-perception."

Holbrook says the story on the dropout rate has a great message about the value of an education.

Holbrook's film is airing on n CTTV, channel 15 on the Verizon FiOS cable system and channel 615 on Bright House Networks on Sundays at 9 p.m., Mondays at 2 p.m., Fridays at 8 a.m. and Saturdays at 7 p.m. through October.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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