Filmmaking Helps Boys Connect, Grow

Program Gives Kids Mentors, Direction

Fred Skaer had already helped to raise his two children, serving as a Boy Scout leader, Sunday school teacher and basketball and soccer coach. Derald Cook was a sixth-grader, and a good student, at George Washington Middle School.

The two are among the first "graduates" of iMovie Mentors, an Alexandria program aimed at getting the school's sixth-grade boys to embrace their inner Spielberg and to stay on the straight and narrow, with the help of adult mentors.

Skaer, a Vienna resident and an engineer for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Alexandria youth met through an after-school workshop, where they played softball and ultimate Frisbee. They bonded when Skaer taught Derald how to write with his left hand, after the student hurt his right hand in a bicycle accident.

Now, they've made a movie together.

"They saw me and Fred had a good connection," Derald, 14, said. "It was a good choice, a very good choice."

The program is entering its second year (or Season Two, as its founder puts it), after producing seven short movies during its inaugural run.

"This city has, like any other, kids fighting and turf wars," said Lillian Brooks, director of Alexandria's court services. The city's Court Service Unit deals with probation, parole and prevention and oversees the iMovie program. "We were looking for a way to bring the kids together and have fun."

Linda Odell, director of the unit's alternative programs, thought of the idea after she bought a MacBook laptop computer and learned about the gadget, which has moviemaking software, at an Apple store. She also happened to see a survey that showed that 47 percent of students at George Washington Middle wanted to learn how to make films.

"Being in the court system, we know what causes kids to get into the court system, and we know what it's going to take to keep them out," said Odell, who runs the mentoring program. "Our first wish would be to keep them out altogether."

George Washington Middle refers students to the program for reasons including behavioral problems, possible issues at home and the lack of a father figure. Odell said officials visit each boy's home and conduct interviews. Potential mentors also are interviewed -- and given criminal background checks -- before being paired with a student. Once the adults meet the students, the pairing process can take several weeks, until they find a good match.

Skaer, 54, read about the program last year while riding the Metro to his job in the District. Last March, the father of a 29-year-old son and a 25-year-old daughter went to a meeting about the program. Then he went on a camping trip with other adults and students and paired up with Derald at workshops so both could learn the basics of moviemaking.

Skaer said that Derald, who lives with his mother, has a great support structure in his family and church.