Producer Heather Winters and Director Sara Sackner have known Jay W. Jensen for what feels like an eternity. We, and so many of his former students, would not have survived our enormous high school - Miami Beach Senior High – a very large and diverse public school with a big fat love of football – if not for Jay and his dynamic drama program. To describe Jay as "one teacher makes a difference" is an understatement. Jay is the real deal. At separate dinners held in Jay's honor on both coasts, we knew we had to make a movie about Jay. Once filming began we learned that the Beach High drama department no longer existed. The plays, the Community Theater, the Children's Theater – all gone. This rude awakening to the state of our alma mater set us on the road for a look at the arts in public schools throughout the country.

"CLASS ACT" is about our journey of honoring our favorite teacher, Jay W. Jensen, an eccentric millionaire with talented students who credit him with their success and fascinating friends who share his love of the arts. The landscape broadens with the discovery that the drama program from our alma mater is gone, this incredible disappointment opening the door to an exploration of the world of the arts in public education in America. Our experience ends with the revelation that the inequities in our schools are a symptom of the deep inequality in our society, that America's public schools are a reflection of the "haves" and the "have-nots."

During our two-year journey making this film, we learned how the arts ensure that a student's creativity is awakened and nurtured and how the arts keep kids in school, therefore creating better citizens. We learned that creative people are needed for the future of our country and the new global economy.

We shared the joy of the students and teachers who have the opportunity to participate in the arts and experts from across the country confirmed the empirical evidence of this benefit.

We learned that there still are teachers who dedicate their lives to their students, reaching them through the arts. We learned how non-profits are trying to meet the needs of particularly poor schools where the arts have been eliminated. But for every kid they serve, millions go without the arts in their curriculum.

And yet, there's hope. Jay is a hero. He is a symbol of the thousands and thousands of teachers who have made and continue to make a difference for their students. Jay is an inspiration, both through his philanthropy and his teaching. Jay keeps up a pace that those decades younger could never sustain. Jay's glass is not half full; it's overflowing.

Heather and I are so grateful that our teacher, Mr. Jensen, shared his life with us over the last two years. Here we are, many years out of high school, and as he did when we were teenagers, Jay has once again encouraged us to pursue our dreams.

Our hope is that "CLASS ACT" will help to inspire audiences to make the world a better place for America's children through the arts.

Sara Sackner, Director
Heather Winters, Producer