Beyond the Blackboard
Beyond the Blackboard
PG | 24 April 2011 (USA)
Beyond the Blackboard Trailers

Inspired by a true story, “Beyond the Blackboard” is about a 24-year-old first-time teacher who makes a difference in the lives of the homeless children she teaches in a shelter’s makeshift classroom. Set in 1987 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this movie tells the story a brand-new teacher and Mom who is given a tougher than expected teaching job and winds up teaching homeless children in a school that is housed in a room and called, literally, The School with No Name. She has some personal prejudicial hurdles to cross before she is able to be a true teacher for these children and of course there are hurdles like the lack of books and supplies.

Reviews
justinenyman

All I can say is what a beautiful inspirational story. It brought tears to my eyes to see such a caring individual change the lives of so many homeless children and their parents. It really shows the love that Stacy has for her students, to further their education when the resources were not provided. She went out of her way to provide the children with a learning environment, purchasing cleaning supplies, changing the classroom, providing education to their parents, and tons of supplies provided by her without the means of pay. Every teacher out there should watch this film for inspiration. It is you, combined with the child's willpower that changes the outcome.

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tavm

I originally wasn't going to watch last Sunday but when I came home from work that day, my mom had it on there and seeing a familiar face from "Everwood" (Emily VanCamp), I decided to stick it out. I was very glad I did as this was quite an inspirational "based on a true story" movie though I'm sure since this was produced by the Hallmark greeting card company, not all the nasty things that went on that lower income school was going to be depicted. But you can see some of the frustrations this Stacey Bess went through and her struggles to get some needed textbooks and other materials when she talks to the man who hired her (Timothy Busfield). But when she then talks to another administrator (Treat Williams who I also recognized from "Everwood"), he decides to see what he can do and does more than she can thank him for. It was a wonderful surprise when these two former co-stars from the WB series showed up together on screen. There were other wonderful sequences but I'll just now say that this was very inspirational and if you're interested in this kind of thing, it's now on DVD at you're nearest Hallmark store. P.S. Loved the vintage Hallmark commercials that was shown throughout. Was especially interested in the one from 1975.

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willeagle23

My wife asked me to watch this movie with her last night and I'm glad she did. This was a very well done movie. All the actors did a great job especially Emily VanCamp as Stacey Bess. The child actors they got for this movie also did a very good job. I became very interested in the children and what their story was. And to probably be expected some were pretty sad. It was interesting to find out what happens to them during the movie. And as in all Hallmark movies there are some moments that tug at your heartstrings! And moments where you get a smile on your face. This was a story that I wasn't aware of so you could learn something from this movie as well as just get some enjoyment from it. A good choice for the family to watch.

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cgflames

I was surprised. I didn't intend to watch the movie, but once I started I couldn't turn it off or DVR the rest. I wanted to stay till the end.I found the child actors to be believable and talented. I was happy with the job the adults did as well.I found the story to be sad, but truthfully what can be expected in our world today with the way things are (unemployment so high, lots of businesses going out and leaving people unable to take care of themselves any longer, and so forth). I found that the movie made me want to read the book, to see how accurate the story is. I can imagine that things were much worse than they were shown in the movie.I was happy that the ending was real and not a happily ever after ending. Life for the homeless rarely seems to end with everything hunky dory, for some people things improve, for a lot they just go downhill quickly.Most of all I was happy to get to meet the real person at the end of the movie. Although there was good info on how to help, which I am sure was most important to this wonderful woman, it would have been nice to have a better update on her family situation. IE: still married with this many kids, all grown or ages (fill in the blanks). It is something I always look for at the end of a true story.

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