Free screening set for documentary focusing on charter school lotteries
Families desperate to flee failing public schools by competing for a spot at a high-performing charter campus will be featured in a documentary film shown this week in Atlanta.
“The Lottery,” an independent film released in June, adds its voice to the recent Hollywood commentary on education reform and the troubles traditional public schools are having as they try to meet the needs of all students. Paramount Pictures recently released another film bringing attention to the issue, “Waiting for Superman.”
"The Lottery” follows four low-income families hoping to get a seat for their kids at Harlem Success Academy in New York. It will be shown for free at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Loudermilk Convention Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. A panel discussion will follow on how the film relates to metro Atlanta and Georgia.
Georgia has about 140 charter schools, including several with waiting lists and lotteries.
“It is not a New York-only story,” said David Pusey, director of the Center for an Educated Georgia, a co-host of the event. “Atlanta is a big city with similar problems. The take-home message is the future of these kids shouldn’t be about a pingpong ball or pulling a piece of paper out of a hat.”
Film director Madeleine Sackler said parents competing in lotteries to exercise choice inspired her.
“The reason for the achievement gap is not that parents don’t care," she said. "Millions of parents are looking for alternatives for their kids every year. The fact is that there aren’t really enough great schools to accommodate all of these kids.”
Students sometimes stagnate in classrooms led by teachers who feel overwhelmed by the push to perform on standardized tests or whose creativity is stifled. The joy of learning can leave the classroom, says Ron Clark, who trains hundreds of teachers who visit his private school and professional development center.
“They are out of college and coming into classrooms with ideas; they are told they have to teach a certain way," Clark said. "There is a lot of fear about not performing well on tests."
That causes teachers to "lose their passion,” he said.
For poor families zoned for low-performing schools, charters can offer a shot at success, said Tony Roberts, CEO of the Georgia Charter Schools Association, also a co-host of the event. On the state's most recent Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, a higher percentage of charter schools serving low-income communities made the adequate yearly progress goals set by the No Child Left Behind Act than traditional schools serving the same population. But like in the documentary, surviving the lottery is key.
“Some of them were fortunate to be chosen," Roberts said. "Others were just heartbroken that they weren’t."
