I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School

• Susan Raymond: spokeswoman

I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School is an American documentary from 1993, the documentary filmmaker Susan Raymond directed. . The film about a primary school in Philadelphia in 1994 was awarded the Oscar for " Best Documentary ".

Action

Susan Raymond, the students and teachers of Stanton Elementary School in North Philadelphia performed a year with the camera. The students are old for the most part of African-American descent, between five and ten years to life almost all below the poverty line. Teachers and staff are eager to make a safe, secure place of learning for the children. Hope for improvement of the overall situation brings the renewal of the position of director together with an energetic, highly motivated teacher. But the new Director can not eliminate all ills at once and must make in some situations reluctantly cutting back.

Continuation

15 years after I Am a Promise Susan and Alan Raymond turned back at a school, this time at a high school in Baltimore. This resulted in the documentation of Hard Times at Douglass High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card, which continues the story of 1993 and shows that has improved in 15 years for poor, African-American children in America not much. The title refers to the continuation of George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, an education law that is controversial in the United States.

Awards

At the Academy Awards in 1994 Susan and Alan Raymond won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. The Emmy Awards 1994 the film was awarded the Emmy for "Outstanding Informational Special".