Following the day-to-day stories of students, parents, teachers and staff at the Washington Metropolitan High School, "DC Met: Life Inside School Reform" is an intimate portrait of a public school that attempts to make a difference in the lives of students each and every day. Whether they are preparing for college or becoming teen moms, the students at DC Met face many challenges with spirit and resilience and welcome us to challenge many of our own assumptions as we travel with the first graduating class to commencement. Led by a charismatic and outspoken young principal, DC Met invites us in for an unprecedented first-hand account of life inside of the school reform movement. Coming in 2013.
The Production Team
Executive Producer: Jacquie Jones
Jacquie Jones is the Executive Director of the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) and the Executive Producer of DC Met. Since taking over leadership of NBPC, Jacquie has established herself as a leader in the evolving next-media landscape through innovative partnerships and initiatives such as the Katrina Project, the ground-breaking New Media Institute, the Public Media Corps and blackpublicmedia.org. She was previously the Executive Vice President of ROJA Productions in New York City, a producer of high impact media for public television and museums. Jacquie is also a Peabody Award-winning producer and director of documentary films. Her credits include “Africans in America” and “Matters of Race” for PBS, “Behind Closed Doors: Sex in the 20th Century” for Showtime, and “The World Before Us,” for the History Channel. She has a BA in English from Howard University and an MA from Stanford University’s documentary filmmaking program. She has been a Revson Fellow at Columbia University and a scholar-in-residence at American University in Washington, DC. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Integrated Media Association (iMA) board and on the Community Advisory Board of WHUT Howard University Television.
Series Producer: Lesley Norman
Lesley Norman was most recently the Executive Director of The Filmmakers Collaborative in Boston. Prior to this position, she was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of JumpStart Productions in New York, and Executive In Charge of the award-winning series NOW on PBS. Before joining JumpStart Productions, she was Vice President and Production Executive of David Grubin Productions. Lesley has multiple program Emmy awards for her work with NOW on PBS, as well as the Edward R. Murrow award from the Overseas Press Club for her senior producing role on the film “Child Brides, Stolen Lives.” She has worked on other award-winning productions such as “The Secret Life of the Brain,” “Napoleon,” and “Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided” for David Grubin Productions, “Africans in America” for WGBH, and "BreakThrough: The Changing Face of Science In America" for Blackside, Inc. Lesley holds a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University, and an bachelor’s degree in government from Skidmore College. She has served as a grant reviewer for the NEH, has been a panelist at Silverdocs and a program participant at RealScreen, and has produced several panels for the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers.
Producer: Garland McLaurin
Garland McLaurin has worked in television and film in the United States and abroad for over ten years. He recently worked on “Black in America 4,” the latest installation of an ongoing series documenting African American life for CNN. Prior to Black in America 4, Garland was a producer and cinematographer on the BET Ed Gordon Special “Homecoming: The Killing of DJ Henry,” As a video journalist, he had worked on projects for Time.com and the NY Times online divisions and produced a series of web shorts on environmental issues for NPR member station WAMU 88.5 American University Radio. In the spring of 2010 he traveled to Haiti to shoot “One Day, One Destiny” a co-production of NBPC’s AfroPop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange broadcast series and blackpublicmedia.org. He holds a BA in Radio-TV-Film from Howard University and an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts graduate film school.
Producer: Breht Gardner
Breht Gardner is a multiple award winning filmmaker who has worked in various facets of filmmaking, including writing, producing, directing, shooting, editing and sound mixing. His works have been showcased at over seven international film festivals including Sundance and Cannes. Most recently he produced and directed the reality show “The Studio Exposed” featuring multiple Grammy award winning producer, Bryan-Michael Cox. His other credits include “The Salon,” featuring Vivica A. Fox, “State’s Evidence,” and “That Guy.” Breht graduated from Howard University with a BA in Film. He has also attended the University of Southern California’s film program.
Associate Producer: Brittany Clemons
Brittany Clemons serves as Associate Producer for DC MET: Life Inside School Reform. She previously worked on several National Black Programming Consortium productions such as the teen talk show "What's Good DC," and the Public Media Corps, where she developed Digital Media Arts Programs at two District of Columbia high schools. She holds a BA in film with a minor concentration in electronic studio from Howard University.
Associate Producer: Justin Lenart
Justin Lenart is originally from Queens, NY but spent a part of his childhood in central Virginia. Justin hold a BS in Media Arts & Design and a concentration in Print Journalism from James Madison University. Justin began his career in production at the CBS and NBC affiliates in Richmond, VA. And, in 2007, took a P.A. position with America's Most Wanted (AMW). In August 2010, was promoted to Associate Producer and managed the West Coast region of the AMW newsroom. He produced numerous pieces for the AMW, including a segment that prompted a tipster to call in and identify the man responsible for the murder of a Hollywood publicist.
Production Manager: Alexis P. Aggrey
Alexis Phyllis Aggrey is the production manager for DCMet. Her background is in natural history production and interactive game design. Alexis fell in love with documentary production while at National Geographic Television. Her most recent work includes the redesign of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN, and National Geographic's Great Migrations series. She received a BS from Norfolk State University in Mass Communications.
Associate Producer: Will McKinley
Will McKinley is a graduate of Morgan State University in Baltimore. His skills have landed him opportunities to work with the Baltimore Orioles, Comcast Sportsnet, Source Magazine, the University of Maryland, The Afro-American Newspaper, America's Most Wanted and more. He has a BS degree in TV Production but has a profound love for film.
