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		Ballou

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		On DVD Now Best For Tweens (10-12) Not Rated
		Life Lessons \| Educational

		The Ballou Senior High School Marching Band marches out of Washington, D.C.'s inner city to compete in the National High Stepping Marching Band Competition in Birmingham, Alabama. No one would have expected a group of kids from Ballou--a school with a 50 percent drop-out rate and the highest crime and poverty rates in the country--to become one of the most recognized marching bands in the U.S. Yet, they did! This must-see documentary follows the passionate and tireless efforts of band leader Darrell Watson to save his students through music. It points out what can be accomplished against the most extreme odds--all 14 senior band members graduated and went to college; music and arts were brought back into the D.C. Public School system; the band will perform in the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade--and it takes away all excuses for not even trying.


	This movie is intended for older children.


	This movie is intended for older children.

Younger kids may find the stories of students who have died very disturbing, and won't want to listen to the devastating statistics about the negative environment in which the children grow up. Older kids, especially those who are involved in band, will understand why the students feel like family to each other. They'll be fascinated to see how the group manages to succeed in an area of such extreme poverty, and will appreciate the fact that they "use duct tape for everything, so sometimes you see more duct tape than horn!"

Tweens will wish they had a mentor like band director Mr. Watson, who admits, "They say you can't save everyone but I feel I have to try." He teaches his students valuable lessons, which he tells them to apply to every aspect of their lives, and he takes them on field trips, gives them a safe place to vent, helps them solve problems without fighting and supports them emotionally. When, after the big competition, he tells them he's most proud of them for "what it took for you to get there," the look on their faces says everything. Tweens will be impressed that the other band assistants are former students who came back as volunteers, and will see the importance of paying it forward.

--Lois Alter Mark, the Flicks for Kids Expert



		Extended interviews, deleted scenes and a segment about the Ballou band staff.



			Movie Pluses
		Empowers children Proves you can rise above your circumstances Shows the power of music in schools Focuses on teamwork

			Movie Minuses
		Violence in school and in the community