An eye-opening education

One first-time filmmaker mom intimately documents real-life high-school culture

INTERVIEW. High school is a challenging, exciting, terrifying time for any teen —and perhaps that goes double for parents. To take some of the apprehension out of sending her daughter off to freshman year, single mom Sharon Liese decided to explore adolescent culture as her kid lived it. With unprecedented access to her daughter’s suburban Kansas school, Liese, a first-time filmmaker, documented the lives of 12 girls throughout their high school careers. The teens’ stories are told in the poignant, important new series “High School Confidential.” Liese talks logistics while feeling like a proud mom of 13 on graduation day.

What was your goal for this project?
I initially wanted to do something that eliminated the teenage angst and showed the changes that girls go through over the four years. Now, I think my goal is more to inspire conversation in families.

Was it more difficult to find girls interested in having their formative years caught on film or to convince a school to give its blessing to the project?
It wasn’t easy at first with the school. There definitely was a lot of discussion around it, but I had been involved in the school district, so that really helped. They knew me and knew I was part of the community and knew that I was going to stay a part of the community. So in 2002, there were 200 incoming freshman girls, and I sent letters to all of them and their parents asking if they wanted to be part of the project. I got about 40 responses. I interviewed 25 girls on camera, and that led to the final 12.

Do you feel like you found a good cross-section of girls? 
I did, and I was really aiming for that — I didn’t want 12 cheerleaders. I wanted girls that had different
interests and backgrounds and ethnicities. For the middle of the country, I got incredible diversity.

Was it difficult to get the girls to open up to you?
They were incredibly open, and I think that’s for several reasons. One is that they knew it was not going to air for a while; over four years looked like a long ways away. I also think that from early on, they were tuned into the idea of telling a truthful story.

Some of these ladies deal with very intense issues, from anorexia and cutting to pregnancy. Did that surprise you?
It was surprising that among 12 girls, there were three pregnancies and three different outcomes. You don’t script that kind of thing.

Did you become a second mother of sorts to these girls?
I’ve heard them say that, and I consider that a really big compliment. The day they graduated, I watched my own daughter graduate, and then 12 more times I got to see the other girls walk across the stage. I got chills for each one of them.