VALENTINE ROAD

What do you do to help kids before violence occurs? What do you do after you’ve failed? This award-winning documentary raises those key questions as it investigates a highly publicized 2008 school shooting in which a 14-year old student shot his 15-year-old classmate in the back of the head. Disclosing the lack of effective mechanisms in the justice system and in schools for dealing with tragic events of this kind, deftly assembled interviews with families, teachers, classmates, attorneys, and law enforcement reveal the warning signs before the murder and the impact of the violence on survivors. Conflicting views on juvenile crime and punishment along with issues of intolerance and attitudes about gender bias are explored. Grades 9 and up. Color. Closed captioned. Extras. 89 minutes. BMP Films. ©2012.