Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
January 5, 1994
Section: COMMUNITY
Edition: FINAL
Page: 4
PARENT PUTS HER BELIEF
IN KERA ON FILM:
EDUCATION REFORM CAN WORK,
AND DOCUMENTARY SHOWS HOW
Linda VanHoose, Herald-Leader staff writer
As a parent in Fayette County Schools, Lisa Bhavsar* knows firsthand the hopes, dreams, struggles and doubts parents, teachers and administrators are experiencing in the wake of the Kentucky Education Reform Act.That's why she created, directed and produced "Rethinking Education: Getting to Know the Stony Point Story," a 57-minute educational documentary with the purpose meant "to educate, paint a realistic picture of what's involved in successful change, to offer hope and instill confidence in the merit of the tenets of KERA."
You can view the documentary on Jan. 12 at Central Librarythe Lexington Public
Library downtown. A panel discussion will follow.
For the documentary, Bhavsar, 32, focused the documentary on Stony Point Elementary
School in Charlottesville, Va., which has been successful in implementing many
KERA principles of KERA. Bhavsar and her family, including her only daughter,
Ayesha, who attends Dixie Magnet School, were livinglived in Charlottesville
while her husband was on a one-year sabbatical from the University of Kentucky.''I
liked the way she (Ayesha) was treated and how the teachers allowed the students
to make choices," said Bhavsar, who finished the documentary this past
in July.
Ayesha also enjoyed making choices.
''A lot of it was freedom," she said. "I liked when they said we were
going to do a holiday play. That didn't mean it was just about Christmas, we
got to make up what we were going to do. We did Hanukkah , Kwaanza and Christmas.
There was freedom and choice."
Making the documentaryAfter seeing for herself an environment where those KERA
philosophies were embraced, Bhavsar, originally from Chicago, thought making
a documentary was the most powerful thing she could do to convince Kentucky
parents and teachers in Kentucky of KERA's merits.''When I saw what was happening
at Stony Point Elementary, I knew I had to do something to bring its beauty
and success back to Kentucky with me," said Bhavsar, who works part-time
at Michler Florist & Greenhouses and owns her own small business, "Underart,"
which specializes in hand dye-painted garments and embellished accessories.
With no financial funding help whatsoever, she acquired donations of all the
equipment needed. Bhavsar made the documentary with no financial help whatsoever.
All of the equipment she used was donated. She also had an educationally-involved
videographer and videotape editor who are involved with the schools volunteer
their time and expertise. Stony Point faculty members and the Kentucky Education
Association, Virginia Education Association and Prichard Committee for Academic
Excellence were among those that gave moral support.
''This documentary is a good resource for the public to see," said Nawanna
Fairchild, director of elementary curriculum and instruction for Fayette County
Public Schools, who will participate in the panel discussion on Jan.12.
''The documentary shows that this primary program is a national endeavor that
is being successfully implemented across the country. It's another example outside
of Lexington of how children learn best," Fairchild said.
And in July, iIn the final hours of the project, Bhavsar realized she had something
special.
''After editing videotape non-stop for 13 hours, it dawned on me that I had
created a beautiful quilt," she said. "There was no script and I just
picked out the pieces and fit it all together like a beautiful quilt with its
colors and designs."
Education is important to Bhavsar. She volunteers as a classroom facilitator
at Dixie Magnet, working with individuals and small groups, developing and teaching
units to classes through experiential learning projects.
Bhavsar, a member of the Fayette County Prichard Committee Affiliate Community
Committee for Education??, also taught English as a second language at the Regional
Institute of English in Bangalore, India.
While there she created and recorded language lab exercises discussing controversial
issues and introduced debate to spoken English tutorials.
'The Community'Bhavsar's, who is originally from Chicago, spent her last two
years of high school were spent in an alternative education program called The
Community, which was within New Trier West High School in Northfield, Ill.
''It was in The Community that I learned how to learn," Bhavsar said. "We
were given responsibility for our education, from determining what we wanted
to learn to how we were going to learn it."
She also learned how to use the local community as a resource for finding facilitators
adults who would help, guide and evaluate.
''Learning how to learn the job that comes with involvement in one's learning
process has been one of the most valuable tools for success and living,"
said Bhavsar, who would like to continue with make other educational documentaries.
"It is because of this experience that I feel confident that the world
is my classroom, and I can learn anything I want, anywhere I am."
And Bhavsar wants to see Kentucky education reform succeed in Kentucky.
''I want Kentucky to become a model for the nation," she said. "I
know it can succeed because I've seen it work. The message 'Everyone's got to
be on board' is crucial."
Lisa Bhavsar will show her educational documentary, "Rethinking Education:
Getting to Know the Stony Point Story," from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 12 at Central
Librarythe Lexington Public Library's main branch, on Main Street.FollowingAfter
the viewing, a panel discussion will be held with featuring Nawanna Fairchild,
director of elementary curriculum and instruction for Fayette County Public
Schools; Gail Toye, principal of Northern Elementary School; Debi Steele, Linlee
Elementary School teacher; and Bhavsar.
Free baby-sitting is available for up to 15 children, but reservations must
be made in advance. To make reservations, call the library at 231-5530.
*Legal name change to Robin Rainbow Gate in 2005