AllMovie

Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey once had a reputation as one of America's best public schools, and turned out a steady stream of students who went on to become doctors, lawyers, academics and writers (one alumnus was novelist Phillip Roth, who graduated from Weequahic in 1950). But as Newark's economy went into decline in the 1970s and Weequahic's student body changed from mostly Middle Class Jewish to primarily African-American and poor, gang violence became common at Weequahic in the 1990s and the school's academic reputation took a severe hit, as the school nearly lost its accreditation. But principal Ron Stone set out to change that; balancing toughness and compassion, Stone took the risky step of arranging a meeting with youth gang leaders and helped negotiate a truce that sharply reduced violence at Weequahic. Stone also partnered with a group of concerned alumni to help boost the school's academic standings and make it possible for promising graduates to go on to college. Filmmaker Beth Toni Kruvant tells the true-life story of Ron Stone and his bid to make Weequahic High a school to be proud of once again in the documentary Heart Of Stone, which was an official selection at the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival.