Vanessa Roth has composed a cinematic love letter to teachers with her documentary, American Teacher. This roughly 80-minute film, narrated by actor Matt Damon, focuses on the lives of four teachers around the country: middle-school history teacher Erik Benner of Keller, Texas; elementary-school teacher Rhena Jasey of Maplewood, N.J.; elementary-school teacher Jamie Fidler of New York City and former high-school teacher Jonathan Dearman of San Francisco — who gave up his passion to earn a decent living as a Realtor.

The Amy Biehl High School Foundation of Albuquerque hosts a screening of American Teacher at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Kimo Theatre, 423 Central Ave., NW, in Albuquerque. The screening will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. panel talk featuring Ellen Bernstein, Albuquerque Teachers Federation president, as well as at least one other teacher and two as-of-yet-unannounced elected officials. Tickets are $10. At this time, I can't find evidence that a Santa Fe screening is planned anytime soon.

To its credit, the picture doesn't pretend to be anything other than a plug for empathy, support and an increase in teacher salaries as it paints the teaching profession as a noble, challenging, stressful career requiring at least 50 hours of work at the school site (not to mention grading papers or preparing assignments at home). The film is produced by the Teacher Salary Project, which advocates for more pay for teachers.

The four teachers spotlighted in the film (though the story sometimes focuses on a few other educators and education-reform advocates) clearly love their students and their jobs. Benner's story is typical of all four; he comes off as an incredibly likable guy who can't maintain a house payment and support his family on his teacher salary ($27,000 to start), so he takes a second job working retail at night. This time commitment takes a toll on his health and his marriage. American Teacher points out that 31 percent of all American public-school teachers hold a second job.

Damon reels off facts and figures throughout, emphasizing the positive impact that effective teachers can have on students and stressing that the nation does not reward educators enough, given the demands of the job. The documentary cites statistics showing that the average starting salary in the nation is about $34,700, and notes that over the course of 20 years, the average increase in wages for teachers will ultimately amount to less than $24,000. The film notes that there are about 3.2 million public-school teachers serving now —
1.8 million of whom are due to retire within 10 years. Who will replace them, the documentary asks — suggesting that the profession is attracting fewer recruits.

We see film clips of President Barack Obama, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Microsoft founder, philanthropist and author Bill Gates all touting the fact that teachers are the single most important factor in a student's success.

The film may not say anything new about the many challenges facing teachers (it only briefly touches on the fact that many educators can't control factors outside the classroom that impact students' academic achievement, like the kids' home life, and it doesn't go into the issue of parental involvement), but in using personal stories to promote its cause, it's surprisingly effective — particularly at a time when teachers are taking quite a bashing. Roth, incidentally, won an Academy Award for her 2007 short documentary, Freeheld.

Visit www.theteachersalary.project.org to find out more about that organization and the film. Visit www.amybiehlhighschool.org for specifics regarding Wednesday's screening and to reserve tickets in advance.