Filmed in the spring of 1970 but never commercially released, this documentary reveals a day in the life of Community School 30, a newly opened primary school serving inner-city children in Harlem, New York. Harlem School 1970 focuses on kindergarten through fourth-grade students (ages 5-10), observing the interactions of teachers, faculty, parents, and employees. What unfolds is a historic journey back in time, viewing and listening to a variety of daily structured activities: the rhymes and songs that children sing, their games, colloquial language, conflicts, and the repetitive routines of class time, lunch, and recess. Independently produced by director/cinematographer/editor Phil Gries in the Direct Cinema style (reminiscent of the Maysleses, D.A. Pennebaker, and Frederick Wiseman), Harlem School 1970 is a peerless time capsule in which inner-city children interact with adults and their classmates during an uncertain and challenging time in their lives.