A Pathway Forward: One Year Later
On October 9, 2024, Kentucky to the World hosted the Premiere of A Pathway Forward, a documentary following Central High School Law and Government Magnet sophomores through a year of innovative instruction. Over a year later, the film’s message continues to resonate far beyond the school’s walls.
Connecting the Stories of World Figures with Kentucky Roots
Kentucky to the World’s mission “to elevate the cultural and intellectual reputation of our Commonwealth on the global stage…by sharing compelling stories of extraordinary people with Kentucky roots” made them the ideal fiscal sponsor through which donors could support the film’s production. Beyond the story of today’s Central High School students, the film also has a strong connection to two extraordinary people with Kentucky roots - Louis D. Brandeis and Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali attended Central High School himself and is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. Louis Brandeis was born and raised in Louisville, and his remains are buried under the portico at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. Both Ali and Brandeis had Kentucky roots, both became world famous, and both chose Louisville for their final resting place. They both inspired others to do great things. And they both elevated the reputation of Kentucky on the global stage.
Muhammad Ali (via The Muhammad Ali Center) and Louis Brandeis (via Brandeis University).
Taking the Show on the RoaD
Beginning in fall 2023, award winning film producer Jesse Nesser, alongside KTW Director of Strategic Planning and Documentary Film Tommy Johns, followed a group of Central High School sophomores and their inspirational teacher, Joe Gutmann. In ways that only a film can do, the documentary shows how these young people evolved in their critical thinking skills, following them throughout their sophomore year in the Law Magnet program at Central High School. It follows their pathway towards becoming active citizens - some of them planning to become lawyers and others leaders in other professions. Today, the stars of this story are now seniors, ready to follow the pathway wherever it leads next.
The October 2024 premiere, co-hosted by KTW and major documentary donor Harvey Johnston III at the Kentucky Center, was followed later that week by a screening at the Louisville International Film Festival, where it received the Best Feature Film Award. And the week after, the Sky Arts Film Festival in Bowling Green screened A Pathway Forward as its opening film.
The premiere of A Pathway Forward in October 2024 (via Brandeis School of Law News).
The documentary then began to be shared “with the world.” Over the last year, it has been shown at three law schools - Georgetown University Law Center, New York Law School and Howard Law School - as well as a higher education conference in Tampa, Florida. And the story continues to be shared with the Louisville public, most recently through a Brandeis School of Law event hosted at the Speed Museum on October 8 by Dean Melanie Jacobs. The documentary was also shared with all JCPS leaders at their December 2025 fall retreat, where they explored ideas to expand the elements of the 24-year successful partnership between JCPS and UofL to other schools. Laura Rothstein, who facilitated the production of the documentary, spoke about the partnership at a national Association of American Law Schools Webinar on October 8, 2025, discussing her forthcoming article in the Journal of Legal Education which provides a detailed roadmap to other law schools to adopt, adapt, and sustain similar pathway programs.
Since Brandeis’ partnership with historic Central High School began in 2001, 21 Law Magnet graduates have become lawyers – some remaining in Kentucky, others taking their skills to “the world.” These graduates are now working in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Miami, St. Louis, and Indianapolis, as well as throughout Kentucky, in a range of private and public service positions. Other Law and Government Magnet students have gone on to obtain professional degrees in business, agricultural economics, HR, and education. Among those graduates include the principal of a Dallas high school, the HR director of a Fortune 500 corporation in Austin, Texas, a graduate of the prestigious Berkeley School now beginning a program for at-risk students in Nashville, and one who was part of the summer 2025 opening of Good Brothers Pharmacy in West Louisville. Together, these graduates - whose pathways were opened and guided by the partnership - and others in the community are elevating the cultural and intellectual reputation of Kentucky. Many of the law students who taught in the program have taken their experiences to engage in service support activities with young people, including in Washington, D.C. and Huntington, West Virginia. And the film itself, by being shared throughout the country, takes this story to the world.
A“Laboratory of Democracy”
While several of the film’s donors are from Louisville, it is noteworthy that funding support was also provided by the Law School Admission Council and the American Board of Trial Attorneys, both national organizations who recognized the value of sharing a local story to inspire others. Louis Brandeis believed that states could try novel social and economic experiments and serve as laboratories of democracy. He stated that “a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country." How appropriate that the Central High School partnership with the Brandeis School of Law should serve as just such a laboratory - an excellent example of elevating Kentucky’s reputation through a model program for others to follow.
The Engagement College Consortium, a national organization of higher education institutions, recognized Central High School as the 2025 ESC Excellence in Community Partner Engagement Award recipient at its annual conference on October 8. This award highlights that this successful program can be a model for other K-12 and higher education partnerships throughout the country.
A Pathway Forward, the documentary story that KTW facilitated, will be an example of how Kentucky changed the world for years to come.
