Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

SnoopyStyle Stacey Bess (Emily VanCamp) got pregnant at 16, dropped out of school, and got married to Greg. She eventually got her GED and 8 years later in 2009, she gets her first teaching job in Salt Lake City. She's horrified to find a chaotic railroad warehouse shelter with homeless families run by Johnny Hernandez. With only her own resources and the help of the parents (Nicki Aycox, Kiersten Warren), she tries to create a safe environment. She finally meets superintendent Dr. Warren (Treat William) who is surprised by her work.It's a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. It's feel-good. It's inspirational. It's a tear-jerker. It's all of that. It's sincere and it does that sincerity very well. VanCamp is a solid lead. She embodies that goodness. It is everything one expects from this type of movie.

Anindita Dutta The movie starts with a young teacher named Stacey Bess who goes for an interview and gets the job right away, without many questions being asked. When she asks the interviewer the name of the school, he says 'The school has no name... It is an initiative for homeless children.'And that is the beginning of her journey... A journey of learning... A journey of bringing a change... not only in the lives of her students, numbered somewhere around 20, but in the lives of thousands of people all around. Stacey Bess tells you how a teacher should be. The movie manages to capture that essence very well. The movie leaves behind, with you, an experience to cherish and to learn from for years to come.Emily VanCamp as Stacey Bess is beyond perfection, charming and so real that there are times you forget that she's just playing a part. All the supporting actors are excellent as well. All the child artists deserve a special mention.

studioAT I've seen Beyond The Blackboard a couple of times now and each time it has proved to be an enjoyable watch.While films about inspirational teachers getting the best out of wayward children are pretty common what separates this one from the rest is the heart and strength of the script behind it. It goes against the normal cliché's and this makes for a better film.It is helped by the fact that Emily Van Camp (better known to many as Emily in Revenge and Amy in the dearly missed Everwood) gives a great performance as Stacey and is supported by some good performances from the young children playing her pupils. Fans of the formerly mentioned Everwood will like the sight of Van Camp working with Treat Williams again and their chemistry shines through in the limited scenes they have together. It is also nice to see Cal from Studio 60 (aka Timothy Busfield) also appear in this above average TV movie.

vchimpanzee In this fact-based Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, Stacey is 24 years old in 1987 and fresh out of college. She has wanted to be a teacher since she was a little girl. In flashbacks, we see her as a little girl who has to listen to her father yell at her mother, but other than that we don't know the specifics of why her early life was not pleasant. Then at 16 she becomes pregnant and drops out of school. Still, she married the father, Greg, and earned her GED, then graduated from college, all while raising not one but two children.Stacey is interviewed by the head of human resources for the Salt Lake City schools (Timothy Busfield), who has one opening for her--a school for the homeless. It turns out to be much worse than she imagined: a dump of a warehouse which is also the homeless shelter, with no textbooks or real desks for the students who cover a wide range of ages and abilities, or anything to make it look like a real school. Every time a train passes it's like an earthquake. The substitute teacher she is replacing can't wait to get out of the place. There is a class pet--sort of.But the kids are no worse than kids in any other inner-city school, and most of the homeless are really nice to Stacey. One exception is Candy, who doesn't understand her kids should be in school so they can improve their status in life. After the first day, though, Stacey has only one incentive to stay at this dump. She doesn't want her own children to see her quit. So she perseveres, finally getting through to the school children and really teaching them instead of just babysitting. But the real challenge is dealing with the bureaucracy--she has no actual principal, and no one wants to take responsibility for anything.Eventually, Stacey gets Dr. Warren to listen, and things improve. Some of the homeless people assist Stacey in her efforts, and one is so good at his job he can be paid for it. Still, other challenges are ahead in this environment.There is an additional complication in Stacey's life that has nothing to do with her job, but it's just a challenge that adds to the others. She won't give up.This was a really good movie, though one possible criticism is the fact that these kids were too ideal. And Stacey's own children are too perfect to be believed. But the movie is based on fact, and maybe this is the way it was.Another omission: at the end the real Stacey Bess was introduced, and she mentioned prayer. Not once was a specific religious faith brought up in this movie. Was this an effort to be "politically correct" and not single out one faith over others?Emily VanCamp does a very good job. She looks so much like Melissa Gilbert that she seemed familiar, even though I don't really know her. The real Stacey Bess looked very much like Kiersten Warren, an actress playing one of the homeless parents. Still, Warren is much older than Stacey is supposed to be here, and she was well suited for a tough, more street-smart character.All the leading actors were very good. I would single out Paola Nicole Andino as Maria, a sixth-grader intending to be a teacher but dealing with challenges. Also Liam McKanna as Danny, who goes from Stacey's worst discipline problem (but hardly anything to write home about) to one of the class leaders and a child with lots of potential.It was worthy of the name Hallmark Hall of Fame.