Spring 2007 Activity: ACT Board Member Portrayed in New Movie

Carl A. Cohn, a member of the ACT Board of Directors, has made his debut in a new movie. Well, sort of.

Actor Robert Wisdom portrays Cohn in the movie, Freedom Writers, the story of an idealistic young teacher who lifts the spirits and achievement of students in the Long Beach Unified School District. In the movie, one man—Cohn—helps the teacher, Erin Gruwell, when she runs into trouble.

Cohn led the Long Beach district—California’s third largest—from 1992–2002. He came out of retirement in July 2005 to join the San Diego Unified School District, where he currently serves as superintendent.

In an article published in the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Cohn is referred to as a “Gruwell supporter,” saying he admired Gruwell’s dedication to her students, some of whom documented their personal struggles with such issues as gang violence in their journal entries.

“She turned her classroom into a family. And this family was a positive substitute for the negatives—the really big-time negatives— in their lives,” said Cohn.

Cohn has nothing but praise for the movie. As he told the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the larger message of the movie is the positive impact of a high school teacher who makes a new connection with teenagers in the classroom.