When a mysterious woman hires Detective John Merrow to help her choose the right school for her children, the hard-nosed sleuth launches an investigation. He discovers there are three kinds of schools: Bad, “Good Enough,” and Excellent. It’s not an easy case, particularly when he upsets the status quo. For that offense, Detective Merrow gets a beating from a tough guy hired by those who don’t want change. But the scratches and bruises don’t scare him away…and his client seems impressed by his dogged determination.
Underneath the tongue-in-cheek humor, “School Sleuth” is a serious documentary that explores five key aspects of education: School Safety, Academic Quality, School Facilities, The Adults in Charge, and A School’s Sense of Purpose. The program presents 25 practical measures of educational excellence beyond standardized tests scores and college acceptance rates.
This program has received a First Place EWA Award, a Gold Hugo, and a Peabody Award.
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(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

November 29, 2012 at 6:56 pm
John Merrow, President and Executive Producer/Host of Learning Matters | Learning Matters: Reporting you trust on education stories that matter says:
[...] and as host of his own series of documentaries. He has received George Foster Peabody Awards for School Sleuth: The Case of An Excellent School (2000) and Beyond Borders: Personal Stories from a Small Planet (2006), Emmy nominations in 1984, [...]