Summer Institute for Educators
What the Camera Asks of Us: Curiosity, Care and Critical Thinking
Monday, July 20 – Thursday, July 23, 2026, 9:00am-3:30pm
The Hanks Center for Motion Pictures at Wright State University
3640 Col Glenn Hwy, Dayton OH 45435
Free to all teachers and administrators (preK-12, any subject)
What does it mean to be human in an age of artificial intelligence? Documentary filmmaking reveals that everyone has a story—what’s often missing isn’t the story itself, but the conditions that allow it to emerge. Join us to discover how telling stories on film can build critical thinking, ethical awareness and capacity for meaning-making that no algorithm can replicate.
Some of the guiding questions that will frame our time together:
- How do the stories we tell—and the choices we make in telling them—construct identity, community, and meaning?
- How does the presence of a camera change (our perception of?) reality?
- How can making media deepen critical thinking differently from analyzing media alone?
- What aspects of human experience can filmmaking illuminate, and what remains out of reach?
What You Can Expect During the Institute
Each July, Muse’s Summer Institute for Educators brings acclaimed creative minds from across the globe to the Miami Valley to spend four days exploring and co-creating with teachers. The institute is a place where teachers can tap into their capacities for creativity and artistry, collaborate with their peers, and discover how experiential learning through various artistic disciplines can serve a wide range of subject areas.
The week is carefully sequenced and scaffolded so that each day’s work builds on what comes before. For that reason, Muse strongly recommends that participants plan to attend all sessions.
Activities will be accessible, relevant and fun for teachers of all grade levels, subject areas and artistic proclivity.
Complimentary continental breakfast and catered lunch are provided every day.
Seat Hours & Credit Hours
There are two ways for participating teachers to earn seat or credit hours (and you can do both!):
- Earn 26 seat hours for attending the Summer Institute (four days).
- Earn three credit hours for attending the Summer Institute (four days) and participating in two evening meetings and developing and teaching a lesson in the fall. Additional university details TBA.
Additional Discounts
The Summer Institute is free, but teachers from participating high schools and middle schools can earn an additional Muse discount! If a Muse teacher registers for and attends all four days of the institute, their school receives an additional $50 discount off the 2026-27 in-school performance total. This is in addition to the $100 participating schools may receive for scheduling three or more 2026-27 in-school performances by May 29, 2026. Maximum one $50 discount per school for Summer Institute attendance and one $100 discount per school for early scheduling of in-school performances.
Pre-Institute Workshop
Institute participants are invited to The Neon’s screening of SEEDS on Saturday, May 30, at noon. Directed by WSU graduate Brittany Shyne and winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, SEEDS is “a portrait of centennial farmers in the geographical south. Using lyrical black and white imagery, this meditative film examines the decline of generational black farmers and the significance of owning land.”
Register For The Institute
Support for the Summer Institute is provided by:
-
- Matt Moore &
Janet Graul - Transformative Justice
Initiative -
Institute Artist Bios
Parker Bowling is a cinematographer, editor and director based in Dayton, Ohio, with experience across narrative, documentary and commercial production. A graduate of Wright State University’s Motion Pictures program, he has contributed to projects ranging from short-form media to a feature film that premiered on Tubi. Known for his technical curiosity and collaborative problem-solving, Parker brings a creative, detail-oriented approach to production and media preservation. He currently serves as Facilities and Equipment Manager at the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures, supporting filmmakers through hands-on expertise in cameras, lenses and emerging production technologies.
Selena Burks-Rentschler is an award-winning documentary director/producer and narrative screenwriter whose work centers on social impact, equity and character-driven storytelling. She is an Emmy Award–winning associate producer on Mapping Inequality: Redlining in Dayton & Springfield, produced for the Dayton, Ohio PBS affiliate, which examines the long-term effects of housing discrimination in southwest Ohio. Her short documentary Saving Jackie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and continues to screen nationally at state and county child services agencies, high schools and universities.
Selena’s documentary work has been supported by multiple state and national funders, including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, the Fledgling Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures. She holds an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the David Lynch Cinematic Arts program at Maharishi International University. Her narrative screenplays have been recognized by leading industry competitions, including the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards and the Austin Film Festival Pitch Fest. Her professional production experience includes work on feature films such as Carol, Miles Ahead, Donnybrook and Dark Waters.
Amy Faust is a Cincinnati-based Local IATSE Guild 600 camera operator and Director of Photography with over 20 years of experience in film and television production. She serves on the National Executive Board of IATSE 600 in the Central region and was a founding board member of Women in Film Cincinnati, a nonprofit that champions women working in the industry.
A graduate of the Wright State University Motion Picture Production Program, Amy combines technical expertise with creative collaboration to support productions of all scales. Her work can be seen on feature films including The Public, Turtles All the Way Down, Point Blank, Boss Level, Carol and The Bye Bye Man—and she has worked with major platforms and studios such as Netflix, Showtime, Hulu, HBO and MTV. Known for her leadership on set and her commitment to elevating diverse voices in production, Amy brings professionalism, adaptability and a storyteller’s eye to every project she works on.
Alvoro Leite is a filmmaker and educator whose work reflects a globally informed, socially engaged approach to storytelling. A New York City native and former U.S. Air Force medic, he co-wrote and co-directed Akeem’s Dream, a civic engagement short adopted by the U.S. military for worldwide voter outreach initiatives.
Alvoro is a graduate of Wright State University’s B.F.A. program in Motion Picture Production and a former Directors Guild of America Assistant Director Trainee, with credits on network series including Diagnosis Murder and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His award-winning short Lucky’s premiered at the Cleveland International Film Festival, where it received the Kodak Cinematic Images Award.
As a screenwriter, Alvoro has been recognized by the Writers Guild Foundation Veterans Writing Project, the Atlanta Film Festival and the Diverse Voices Screenplay Competition. Certified in pedagogy through The Ohio State University, he has served as an Ohio Arts Council Artist in Residence and as an adjunct at the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures.
Jazmyn Jefferson is a Wright State University alum and graduate of the Motion Pictures Program. Over five years of hands-on experience, she has developed a strong foundation in film, theater production, concerts and commercial work. She has served in a variety of roles—including Production Assistant, 2nd AC, Production Designer and Event Technician—building expertise in on-set operations, communication and collaborative problem-solving.
Jazmyn’s work across diverse production environments reflects her adaptability, creative instincts and emerging leadership under pressure. Driven by a passion for storytelling and visual media, she brings focus, initiative and professionalism to every project. Outside of filmmaking, she enjoys reading comics, spending time with friends and family and exploring the Dayton and Cincinnati areas.
Nichol Simmons is the Director of the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures and a Sundance award–winning writer/director with extensive experience in film production, education and arts leadership. She began her career in the production offices of feature films in Ohio while a student at Wright State University, later moving to Los Angeles to work as a freelance production professional before transitioning into academia.
Nichol has held leadership roles at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the American Film Institute, where she served as Director of National Workshops and led the Directing Workshop for Women. At AFI, she oversaw production on more than 200 short films. Projects she has mentored have screened at Tribeca, Slamdance and Cannes.
Jazz calls us to engage with our national identity. It gives us expression to the beauty of democracy and of personal freedom and of choosing to embrace humanity of all types of people. It really is what American democracy is supposed to be.
Wynton Marsalis
