Promises To Keep (1966)

This mid-1960s promotional documentary frames the Mid-America “heartland” as prosperous in agriculture yet lagging in education, then introduces a federally backed solution: the Midcontinent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL), created under Title IV of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Using the farm extension model as its template, the film outlines a two-way communications network of 16 area service centers (anchored in Kansas City, Missouri) to link rural, urban, public, private, and parochial schools across parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Missouri with the latest research and practices. It promises coordinated support for teacher preparation and placement, evaluation, reading and math instruction, neighborhood engagement, and hands-on trials of new instructional technologies via experimental classrooms. Through testimonials and scenes of meetings and classrooms, the film argues that voluntary, cooperative adoption of proven innovations will narrow regional disparities and keep talented youth rooted at home—fulfilling America’s “promises to keep” by making the Midcontinent a national model of educational excellence.

Email us at footage@avgeeks.com if you have questions about the footage and are interested in using it in your project.