Yonkers Public Schools Inaugurates New Media Arts School with Great Point Studios

Yonkers officials and BCW member Great Point Studios hosted a ribbon cutting and opening ceremony on Wednesday at the new Robert Halmi Sr. Academy of Film and Television.

Yonkers Mayor Spano, Superintendent of Schools Aníbal Soler, Jr. and Yonkers Board of Education joined Great Point Studios’ CEO Robert Halmi, Jr. at the school’s campus at 463 Hawthorne Avenue—the former Rising Ground residential school for at-risk children.

The new school serves students in the sixth to twelfth grades, and it will function as a trade school offering instruction in the film and television industry, allowing students to engage in hands-on, project-based learning to prepare for various career paths within the field.

Halmi is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner who has produced more than 400 film and television projects. He is the founder of the Hallmark Channel, and the visionary behind Great Point Studios. With the support of Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and the Yonkers Board of Education, Halmi named the school after his father, Hollywood’s legendary Robert Halmi Sr.

Great Point Studios and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees helped develop a curriculum that includes fabrication and design, social media marketing, project management, event planning, sound design, audio technology, and musical and theatrical performance.

The BCW honored Halmi two years ago at its annual dinner. The honoree at the BCW’s November 14 annual dinner—Neil A. Mazzella, CEO of Hudson Scenic—is building all the sets for Great Point Studios’ productions.