Stage Dad: Education on Location

Coordinating a child actor's academic and professional lives requires a team

Jodi Green has been “smitten with theater” since she was in her teens, even though she can’t “sing, act, or dance to save my life.”

I can relate.

Jodi and I met soon after Ben was cast in the revival of “Ragtime,” when she called to discuss the on-set instruction he would receive while the show was in rehearsals and tech prior to opening on Broadway. As the senior director of On Location Education (OLE), a company that hires and supervises certified teachers who work with child actors, Jodi was very patient in explaining the complexities we would deal with in balancing our son’s professional ambitions and academic realities.

“There is a delicate balance to be maintained while a child is juggling two full-time ‘roles,’ that of student and performer,” she says. “Performing children benefit greatly when parents, and all the adults in that child’s private and professional worlds, play a role in supporting the child. We often say the young actors in a production have the greatest challenge, even more so than the adults, because down time is devoted by and large to academics.”

Growing up in the New York City area — her grandfather worked for Irving Berlin for more than 50 years — Jodi “haunted stage doors in high school” and became friendly with a group of Broadway actors who introduced her “to the world of theater beyond what one sees on the stage.” She initially thought about a career in stage management, but ultimately majored in elementary education.

In 1987, she saw “Teddy & Alice,” a short-lived Broadway musical about Theodore Roosevelt and his daughter, and noticed that OLE had provided the production’s teacher. Founded five years earlier by Alan Simon to meet theater and film regulations for on-set teachers, OLE’s work piqued her interest and she applied for a job.

“It was simply a question of finding my niche,” she says.

Jodi was hired and worked as an on-set teacher for film and theater projects. Like others I have interviewed for this series, she also has worked as a child guardian (“Les Miserables” on Broadway) and as both a tutor and guardian (“Les Miserables” third national tour and the original Broadway company of “Beauty and the Beast”). In her current role, she works solely on theatrical projects and TV projects that are rooted in theater, like “Hairspray Live” and the recent “Annie Live.”

Over the years, we have had numerous conversations about our mutual interests — education and theater — and about the best ways to parent young performers who are working in the profession or aspire to do so. For this installment of “Stage Dad,” she agreed to be interviewed about her three-decade career with OLE and the behind-the-scenes work her organization does.

The interview has been edited for length and for clarity

Jodi Green is interviewed by Spectrum News/NY1 about the work of On Location Education in this 2019 story about “Dear Evan Hansen” star Andrew Barth Feldman. Go here to see the full interview.

How do you describe what you do to someone you’ve just met?

I’m an educational consultant for the entertainment industry, part of a team that provides on-set teaching services for young performers who work on live theatrical productions.

What does OLE do and what types of services does it provide?

On Location Education serves as the liaison with a child's school of record, the child's family, the on-set teacher(s), and the production. We advocate on behalf of the child and their academic needs, first with the child's school if they are at a "traditional" school, and then with the production itself, to ensure the child is having the most favorable educational outcome in a highly untraditional classroom setting.

We assist families in navigating factors like a student's enrollment status, assignment exchange, and testing. For example, during theater's shutdown during the pandemic, I worked on a film in New Orleans during Louisiana's statewide standardized testing. My colleague and I coordinated with families, schools, the Louisiana Department of Education's LEAP Testing Coordinator, and production to ensure that well over 100 students on the film made it back to their respective schools for the test.

How many tutors are you working with at any given time?

Prior to the pandemic, in late fall and early winter when tours are well underway and seasonal productions are running, I could personally be working with 20 to 25 on-set teachers at any given time.  The company as a whole works with 200 to 250 teachers each season.

On larger shows/sets, is there a tutor-to-child ratio you maintain?

Union guidelines, entertainment industry standards, and most states that regulate minors working in the entertainment industry generally mandate a maximum ratio of one on-set teacher to 10 students.

What are the schooling requirements for child performers? Is a set amount of time required for instruction, or does that vary from state to state and show to show?

Certain states and countries have different requirements for on-set teaching, but in the United States it is most standard for a student to have three hours of tutoring for each day they are absent from school. Tutoring time is calculated according to the actual days missed during each week the student reports to set.

Tutoring must happen in increments of time that are at least 20 minutes in duration. This is the standard regulation for the various unions in the entertainment industry. Additionally, some states such as California, Illinois, and Georgia have guidelines regarding how late in the day on-set schooling may occur.

When Ben was working, we got assignments from his local public school to give to the tutor for several years. Ultimately in high school he started using an online option — Laurel Springs — because his Virginia school district was no longer supportive. Is his case the exception or the rule? 

Whether a student can remain on enrollment often is a key factor in the level of support a school will provide, and that depends on a total number of absences for the year. There are exceptions.  The New York City Department of Education has its own internal attendance code for students receiving on-set instruction with a certified teacher. Certain districts in California have independent study programs set up specifically for distance learning.

If a student is working on a short-term project, like an episode of a TV show or a 29-hour work session in theater, a public school may be more inclined to allow them to remain on enrollment than one who is a lead in a film shooting for three months or on a national tour for up to an entire school year. It may become more challenging for a school to support a student in the middle and high school years when credits toward graduation and AP level courses become a factor. Great care has to be taken when a high school student comes off enrollment to ensure course credits are accepted when they return to the brick-and-mortar school.

Traditional private schools often can be more supportive. Online private schools such as Laurel Springs, which offers asynchronous online classes, can sometimes be the easiest "fit" for high school students who work extensively.

Since the pandemic, some classroom teachers have continued to use virtual academic platforms for their performing students who remain on enrollment.  This has made it easier for students working on location to access and submit assignments.

What do parents need to know and what questions should they ask of their local school when their child starts working professionally?

Communication is key. The on-set classroom is different than a traditional classroom, but the academic goals remain the same. It is helpful for the parent to understand their role in communicating with the school, which still exists even when OLE and the on-set teachers have come on board.

Decisions made about enrollment and the level of support for a child being taught on location are usually not made at the school level, but rather at the district level, sometimes under the advisement of the district’s legal counsel. Out of respect, it is usually best to initiate the dialogue with an administrator at your child's current school, letting them determine if it needs to be taken to the district level.

The parent should arrange a time to meet with a school administrator to discuss attendance policies. Doing so is the first step in knowing whether the child can realistically remain at the school. If your child is working with On Location Education on a specific production, we will support you through the process of speaking with the school.

What are the most common questions you get from parents?

Will my child's school cooperate? What are some options if my child's school doesn't cooperate for a long-term project? Should I move my child to homeschooling or to an online program? If we relocate to New York to work on a theater project, how should I handle my child's education after the production opens and tutoring on a regular basis no longer continues?

What advice do you have for parents of performers about the education of their child?

Always remember you play an important role in your child’s on-set education. You are your child’s best advocate on the team, which is comprised of OLE, the on-set teacher, and your child’s school of record.

Educate yourself regarding on-set education, banking of school hours, and all guidelines specific to entertainment industry unions, entertainment industry standards, and state rules.

Always insist on your child being given a proper on-set education. Don’t let anyone convince you to push your child’s education aside.

If your child is passionate about pursuing a career in the entertainment industry and achieves success in doing so, don’t let any school or district deter you from supporting your child in pursuing their career. There are very favorable schooling options out there for working performers. Plenty of child performers graduate from college with degrees in all areas, not just the performing arts.