A charter school in Wilmington has drawn attention and dollars from a showbiz giant.

The Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW), North Carolina’s only single-gender public charter school, is partnering with Sony Pictures Entertainment and the Sony Global Social Justice Fund to develop a media technology curriculum and studio on GLOW’s campus, according to an announcement Wednesday.

"The new course of study will begin with the 2021/22 academic year introducing GLOW’s middle and high school students to film and television production, digital media and journalism," a news release stated. "Sony Pictures’ financial contributions to the program will be used toward the build-out, operation and staffing of an on-campus multimedia studio and to support GLOW Academy’s College Bound program and the school’s endowment."

The amount of Sony Pictures' contributions was not disclosed.

“We are thrilled to bring this opportunity to our students,” said GLOW Academy Principal Kate Tayloe in the release. “Sony Pictures’ investment in GLOW’s media technology curriculum and studio will prepare our students for further study and careers in media, journalism and film production, industries that are thriving here in Southeastern North Carolina and around the world.”

Sony Pictures has also provided the school with technology and equipment for GLOW’s media technology studio. 

According to the release, GLOW Academy has been working with local film industry leaders, as well as administrators and faculty members in the film and communications departments at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Cape Fear Community College, on the program’s development and to "ensure a pipeline of opportunity for graduates of GLOW Academy."

The release said Jonas Pate, TV producer and director, is helping to develop those opportunities, announcing that the cast and crew of the Netflix series Outer Banks will serve as mentors to GLOW’s media technology students via Zoom and on GLOW’s campus. 

"The first classes to be offered in the media technology curriculum include Adobe Visual Design, and Exploratory Media, including an introduction to video cameras and editing, storytelling and sound capture and editing," the release stated. "Michael Frederick, a digital communications and video production specialist, will lead the program as GLOW’s first media technology instructor." 

GLOW opened in August 2016, with its inaugural sixth-grade class.