David Soto, a Highland Park High School senior, says the film crews who have tracked him and his classmates through hallways and into classrooms since January have made them feel weird and uncomfortable.

"They follow us everywhere and we don’t like it, the camera people and all that," Soto said. "They bother us when they bring the cameras in and record us. They tell us what to do, pretty much. We can’t be ourselves."

Portrayed by Learning Tree Productions as an "immersive 360-degree view into the life of an American high school," crews working for the New York-based company have been filming in and around the East Topeka school this year.

Soto and others featured in the film agreed to participate, but students and staff members have expressed concerns about actors deployed by Learning Tree who are posing as students for the spring semester.

Learning Tree employees have been elusive, and Topeka Unified School District 501 officials have declined to answer questions about the production or provide public documents, including the contract between the company and the school district.

School board members say they initially were concerned about the project but ultimately felt comfortable with Learning Tree, and some students find the opportunity exciting.

"I like that they came to, like, our school, you know — out of all the schools in the nation, they picked ours — like, wow," said sophomore Darel Lurks. "It was pretty cool. They weren’t really in the way, being disturbing or everything like that. They weren’t what I thought they would be when I read the contract. It looked like really, really like, wow, they’re doing all this? They (are) actually pretty cool."

‘Illuminate student life’

Misty Kruger, director of communications for Topeka USD 501, said earlier this year that Learning Tree Productions approached the district before January, saying they wanted to take a "360 degree" look at life in a high school that "represented America."

"Dr. (Tiffany) Anderson being a new superintendent played a factor as well," she said.

In an online document, the company says its goal "is to give voice to the school’s community and its student body, to produce an informative and inspiring TV series that will illuminate student life and the unique landscape of this generation of high schoolers, and to get viewers thinking and talking about our nation’s public schools."

Kruger said the film crew would shoot video inside Highland Park during the 2017 spring semester and that staff and students would have to sign waivers if they wanted to be part of the filming. It isn’t clear whether staff or students were encouraged to participate.

Soto said he signed an agreement and was told that because he was 18 years old, he didn’t have to get his parents’ permission. Younger students, such as Lurks, who is 16, had to secure parental permission. Soto and Lurks have different opinions about how it turned out.

"When they go into the classroom to record," Soto said, "they were like, ‘Sit over here so we can record you.’ Then if you tell them ‘no’ they’re going to get, like, mad and force you to go sit over there like you don’t have an option."

The Topeka Capital-Journal has made written and verbal requests since January to speak to the company and its crews. However, Kruger said, the company didn’t want to talk about the project "until they are finished filming."

School board president Patrick Woods declined to comment and referred questions to Kruger, citing a nondisclosure agreement. Kruger only offered to provide information in exchange for delaying publication of the story and denied requests to interview Anderson and USD 501 attorney Cindy Kelly.

Attempts to speak to a crew filming outside Highland Park were unsuccessful. Two people who said they worked as freelancers for Learning Tree said they couldn’t speak with media because of the nature of their work and referred questions to Jeff Grogan, identified on Learning Tree’s website as an executive producer. Attempts to reach him by email and phone have been unsuccessful.

‘An authentic experience’

Learning Tree explains its use of actors in an online document about the project.

"In addition to our film crew," the company said, "a handful of people who are not part of the Highland Park High School community and who are working with us will immerse themselves in the school to participate in life here, adding another viewpoint and outside perspective to the day-to-day workings of the school. To ensure they have an authentic experience during production, they will not identify themselves as participants in the project."

Highland Park staff members have expressed concerns with the arrangement, noting the outsiders appear to be in their 20s and are easily identifiable.

As members of the school board’s three-member policy committee, Nancy Kirk said, she, Mike Morrison and Peg McCarthy had "long, difficult discussions" about having outsiders immersed at Highland Park.

"We told them we wouldn’t do this if these students lied about who they are," she said. "We had to be convinced. There was a lot of skepticism."

Soto and Xavier Villa, 17, a Highland Park senior, said the actors never identified themselves.

"They don’t tell us who they are, but we know who it is, who they are," Soto said. "I have a few in my classroom and pretty much tell they’re actors by the way they act."

Villa said when he asked administrators about the extra people or the production, he was told to "not worry about it" and "act like they’re not there," although he said that is sometimes difficult when the crews are in the hallways.

"Now you’ve got to pretend they’re not there," Villa said. "You’ve got to kind of act different."

Kirk said teachers were given a choice as to whether they wanted any of the extra students in their classroom and whether they wanted to be filmed.

"If they didn’t want to be part of it, they didn’t have to be part of it," she said. "These are not just people off the street. They did not disguise the fact that they’re going to class. The kids know they’re not real students."

Mike Morrison, vice president of the USD 501 board, said board members were "very cautious" about having the additional people come into the school but were assured that they were properly vetted.

"We wanted to make sure this was healthy for our kids," he said. "After some back and forth, we felt comfortable with this."

Kirk emphasized no district funds have been used for the film project.

"We’re not spending any money on this," she said. "It’s not costing taxpayers a penny."

Contact reporter Angela Deines at (785) 295-1143 or @AngelaDeines on Twitter.