Whatever It Takes chronicles the struggles and triumphs of the very first year of the Bronx Center for Science & Mathematics (BCSM), an innovative public high school set in New York Citys notorious South Bronx. This deeply emotional, vérité-style documentary primarily examines the intertwined lives of two characters: Edward Tom, the schools visionary rookie principal, and Sharifea Baskerville, a spunky ninth-grade girl with big dreams but even bigger obstacles.