Heart of Stone

Running time: 80 mins

Winner - Kaiser Permanente Thrive Award Ronald Stone wore a bulletproof vest to work.

Weequahic High School in Newark, NJ: a place well known for its violent streets. What once was one of the top schools in the U.S. is now home to gangs. As principal, Stone is ready for change and ready for change to bring back Weequahic to its glory. Don't let the scar across his cheek fool you, this principal is a mentor of the truest kind to students who need him most. Students at Weequahic cry out for something to keep them off the streets - making this the toughest, most rewarding job Stone ever faced. Failure was never an option.

By using influential students to persuade others, Stone created a conflict-resolution program that offered a chance to those who the police deemed fated criminals. By working with alumni to raise funds for college scholarships, he provided hope so that education became alternative to violence and crime. Additionally, he showed how disparate groups could join together to give their old communities something they haven't had for generations...a future.