Indiana Coalition for Public Education—Monroe County June 10, 2019
Contact: Jenny Robinson, Chair FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cell Phone: 812-325-3551
Email: [email protected]
INDIANA COALITION FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION WILL SCREEN RISE ABOVE THE MARK, A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE REALITIES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN INDIANA
Following the film, a panel of educators will assess where we are now
Bloomington, Indiana—Indiana education documentary Rise Above the Mark was first released, and screened locally, in 2014. A public education advocacy group will bring it back to Bloomington on Sunday, June 23, at 4 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Following the film, a panel of two superintendents, a teacher, and a community activist will discuss what’s changed in the five years since it was made, with particular attention to the challenges that rural and urban schools are facing as a result of corporate education policy—and what we can do to support public education in Indiana.
Rise Above the Mark is a 65-minute film narrated by Peter Coyote; it has a 9.2 rating on IMDb.com. The movie takes a hard look at current corporate education reforms, which undermine transparency, demoralize teachers, and aim to turn students into test-taking machines. Struggles similar to Indiana’s around school privatization, documented in the movie, are unfolding throughout the United States in the era of Betsy DeVos.
Panelists include the film’s producer, Dr. Rocky D. Killion, the superintendent of the West Lafayette Community School Corporation, who will also introduce the movie, as well as Kathleen Fox, a recently retired social studies teacher from the Monroe County Community School Corporation; Dr. Laura Hammack, superintendent of Brown County Schools, and Charity Scott, executive director of the Indianapolis Public Schools Community Coalition. Retired educator and ICPE–Monroe County board member Debbie Fish will moderate.
Indiana has doubled down on policies that divert taxpayer funds to private schools, through vouchers, and to privately managed charter schools. Funding for public schools lags behind inflation, and the way that schools are funded, with money following the child, means that the outsized impact is on already-strapped rural areas and high-poverty urban cores. A new law making the superintendent of public instruction appointed by the governor rather than elected by the people, and not required to have experience in K-12 education, will affect public schools in all communities.
This fundraising event is presented by the Indiana Coalition for Public Education–Monroe County (www.keepeducationpublic.org), and proceeds will support the group’s advocacy for high-quality, equitable, well-funded schools that are subject to democratic oversight by their communities. Co-sponsors include Democracy for Monroe County, the Indiana University School of Education, and Robert Arnove. Tickets are $5 and are available through the Buskirk-Chumley box office, 114 E. Kirkwood Avenue, or online here.
###
For further information, please contact Jenny Robinson at 812-325-3551.
Contact: Jenny Robinson, Chair FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cell Phone: 812-325-3551
Email: [email protected]
INDIANA COALITION FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION WILL SCREEN RISE ABOVE THE MARK, A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE REALITIES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN INDIANA
Following the film, a panel of educators will assess where we are now
Bloomington, Indiana—Indiana education documentary Rise Above the Mark was first released, and screened locally, in 2014. A public education advocacy group will bring it back to Bloomington on Sunday, June 23, at 4 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Following the film, a panel of two superintendents, a teacher, and a community activist will discuss what’s changed in the five years since it was made, with particular attention to the challenges that rural and urban schools are facing as a result of corporate education policy—and what we can do to support public education in Indiana.
Rise Above the Mark is a 65-minute film narrated by Peter Coyote; it has a 9.2 rating on IMDb.com. The movie takes a hard look at current corporate education reforms, which undermine transparency, demoralize teachers, and aim to turn students into test-taking machines. Struggles similar to Indiana’s around school privatization, documented in the movie, are unfolding throughout the United States in the era of Betsy DeVos.
Panelists include the film’s producer, Dr. Rocky D. Killion, the superintendent of the West Lafayette Community School Corporation, who will also introduce the movie, as well as Kathleen Fox, a recently retired social studies teacher from the Monroe County Community School Corporation; Dr. Laura Hammack, superintendent of Brown County Schools, and Charity Scott, executive director of the Indianapolis Public Schools Community Coalition. Retired educator and ICPE–Monroe County board member Debbie Fish will moderate.
Indiana has doubled down on policies that divert taxpayer funds to private schools, through vouchers, and to privately managed charter schools. Funding for public schools lags behind inflation, and the way that schools are funded, with money following the child, means that the outsized impact is on already-strapped rural areas and high-poverty urban cores. A new law making the superintendent of public instruction appointed by the governor rather than elected by the people, and not required to have experience in K-12 education, will affect public schools in all communities.
This fundraising event is presented by the Indiana Coalition for Public Education–Monroe County (www.keepeducationpublic.org), and proceeds will support the group’s advocacy for high-quality, equitable, well-funded schools that are subject to democratic oversight by their communities. Co-sponsors include Democracy for Monroe County, the Indiana University School of Education, and Robert Arnove. Tickets are $5 and are available through the Buskirk-Chumley box office, 114 E. Kirkwood Avenue, or online here.
###
For further information, please contact Jenny Robinson at 812-325-3551.