Sad but true: Excellent documentary on adult students with disabilities

Best Kept Secret is a low-key and very sad documentary about a year in the life of a special-ed teacher in a Newark public school, JFK School, which describes itself proudly and oddly as Newark's "best kept secret." Though it's not made entirely clear, apparently this is a school for young adults with disabilities who are entitled to remain in the school system until age 21 - so itself those with profound or complex disabilities from ages roughly 18 through 21. The teacher, Ms. Mino, works with autistic students, but it's clear right away that her students have a wide array of issues; the term autism is kind of a catch-all, and these young people are far from being ready for a life with any degree of independence. The frustration for Ms. M., as for the entire system nationwide, is that the school services, publicly funded, end at 21; after that, the students become "consumers." The goal is very good - providing them with skills to live as independently as possible and with the possibility of earning a modest income. But immediately, through Ms. M's eyes, we see how far the reality is from the goal: the potential jobs awaiting these students are so meaningless and deadening that they actually regress and become far less verbal and communicative in the workplace. Or, as in the case of one of her students, the placement (he works in Burger King) requires so much one-on-one supervision that the employer either won't take them on or ends the relationship after a brief experiment. Or, the young adults are essentially warehoused - they're safe, clean, but essentially doing nothing. Or - there is one seemingly good program that offers many activities for the graduates - but it's expensive - i.e., not possible for the students in Newark - and in any case is just a glorified camp - not leading to independence financially or otherwise. Ms. M is incredibly devoted to her students - visits all of these potential placements on her own time - and we follow them all through the year, ending in a very touching graduation ceremony, which leaves us wondering, then what? The film is low-key in the manner of many of the best new documentaries: the filmmakers make no appearance, there is nothing scripted except for a few titles on the screen, no music except for an opening sequence showing scenes of blighted Newark - everything else just filmed live and edited into a coherent story, by director Samantha Buck