Nov 5, 2008 7:48 pm US/Pacific
Tackling the Tough Subjects
Jefferson Award Winner: Sara Staley
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
Some second and third graders at San Francisco's Peabody Elementary School are getting ready for their first lesson on HIV and AIDS. The topic is heavy, but the approach is light: two actors play rappers who don't rhyme too well. The kids help. They listen. And they learn.
"HIV makes people sick but don't get sad. There are new medicines to fight the virus that is bad!" the rappers sing.
Sara Staley directs this twenty-minute production by YouthAware, a program at the non-profit New Conservatory Theater Company in San Francisco. She runs seven productions a year that tour schools and reach more than fifteen thousand Northern California children from kindergartners to teenagers. The live performances tackle tough topics ranging from HIV prevention to tolerance and bullying.
"We're trying to provide a place for students to talk safely about an issue that they might not otherwise be able to talk about on campus," Sara explains.
As YouthAware's director since 2001, Sara's put to work her theater degree and behind-the-scenes training in network TV production. She teaches her actors how to educate and entertain.
Actor Lily Balsen says, "It's not like we're just going to come up and show you these things. We're also going to have fun. That's important. And that's Sara."
Adds actor Zac Schuman, "She loves what she does. She really cares a lot about the kids, the information, the program, and that really rubs off."
Most importantly the
message rubs off.
"Can you get HIV or AIDS from a germ in the air like a cold or flu? No. No, that's right," the actors say to the kids.
Seven-year-old Lila Sattler has learned: "You can't get AIDS from hugging someone or from playing with them and sharing the same glass."
And eight-year-old Spencer Ohlson explains how to treat people with HIV and AIDS: "The same way even if they didn't have AIDS."
"If a kid walks away with 'It's okay to give someone a hug if he has HIV,' that's great. It removes the stigma, removes the fear," says Sara.
So, for teaching tens of thousands of Northern California children about topics like HIV prevention, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Sara Staley.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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