An award-winning academic leader, Craig Hockenberry spent 15 years as the principal of Oyler School in Cincinnati, Ohio. While serving in this role, Craig Hockenberry appeared in the documentary OYLER.
Created by filmmaker Amy Scott, OYLER follows the efforts of a Cincinnati public school to break the cycle of poverty in a community consisting of predominantly low-income households. To serve students and their families, Oyler School combined academic, social, and health services under a single roof. The school is part of a growing movement to establish schools that also function as community centers.
In OYLER, Scott poses many questions. She asks, for instance, whether Oyler School can become a national model and how schools can help students who are disadvantaged. Another question she asks is whether a school can fundamentally transform a community.
To find answers, she chronicles a year at the school, focusing on the mission of its principal and the story of senior Raven Gribbins. Gribbins aims to become the first member of her family to complete high school and go to college. Meanwhile, the school’s principal offers unique insight into how the school seeks to transform the community and serve the student body.
