The first episode of a video series on the turnaround at a Bronzeville high school airs three times this week on CAN-TV Channel 19, starting Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m.

The series, produced by Amandilo M. Cuzan and Bronzeville 360, looks at the experience of Wendell Phillips High School, the oldest predominantly black high school in Chicago, since the Academy of Urban School Leadership was awarded a management contract last year.

Cuzan notes that many long-time community residents view the “turnaround,” in which teachers, administrators and staff are replaced, as part of a push for gentrification following the demolition of CHA developments in the area, while other residents backed the moved in the face of steady decline in the school’s performance.  It’s the most recent of numerous interventions by the central administration, he points out.

“It’s a classic, often emotionally-charged struggle that has few easy answers,” he said

The first 30-minute episode looks at three extracurricular activities at Phillips and their impact on school-community relations: a revitalized music program; a Peace Walk down Martin Luther King Drive organized by a student and teacher; and a Parent Cafe organized by community partners to facilitate parent networking.

It airs on CAN-TV 19 on Saturday, August 13 at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, August 17 at 4 p.m., and Saturday, August 20 at 9:30 a.m.