Burbank Unified Students Attend Private “Shazam!” Screening

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(Photo By Ross Benson)

Seven hundred students with improved or perfect attendance from Burbank Unified School District’s John Burroughs High, Burbank High, Monterey High, the Independent Learning Academy, FACTS Program, Jordan Middle School, John Muir Middle School and Luther Middle School attended a private screening of the recently-released Shazam! movie as guests of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Another 100 BUSD administrators and teachers also joined the students to watch the movie, which ended up in first place at the box office with a reported opening weekend take of $53.5 million.

shazam!
(Photo By Ross Benson)

Students received congratulatory letters and emails with an invitation to the Saturday, April 6, early morning screening at the AMC Burbank 16 theaters. Warner Bros. booked two large theaters at the complex and provided refreshments and a DC Shazam! comic book for everyone.

Mary Elizabeth Michaels, Director of Community Affairs for Warner Bros. and Tom DiMascio, DC Entertainment Director of Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, Special Events and Logistics were on hand to usher and congratulate the students.

(Photo By Ross Benson)

Warner Bros. Entertainment has long been a partner with the Burbank Unified School District, supporting programs and projects at various school sites and district-wide for many years.

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Assessment Sharon Cuseo suggested the reward of a movie screening in August 2018. Cuseo and Instructional Technology Coordinator Bob Martin compiled the list of qualifying students.

Michaels, DiMascio and Vice President of Community Engagement Sally Chan worked with Cuseo, Martin and BUSD Arts & CTE Coordinator Peggy Flynn on invitations and event logistics.

“Research shows that by ninth grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than eighth grade test scores,” said Cuseo. “We are so fortunate to have engaged, committed partners like Warner Bros. who share in our work to provide the best possible foundations for our community’s young people.”

Increasing daily attendance rates has been an ongoing goal of the District, as well as the California Department of Education (CDE.) Research has shown that regular attendance correlates to improved student achievement.

School and district reported average daily attendance is used by CDE to determine annual funding for California public schools. Recently, the CDE launched a new grant program to provide more funding to districts showing improvement in chronic absenteeism.

“We are thrilled that Warner Bros. has provided this opportunity to celebrate our high school students who are making daily attendance a priority and we hope will be an inspiration for others who work to be invited to attend future events like this, “ said Cuseo.

(Photo By Ross Benson)