Charter school documentary 'The Lottery' inspires intense audience discussion

By Sarah Sluis

Most Americans know something about charter schools.

Privately run schools with intensive curricula and frequently non-unionized teachers, their small size and flexible structure is

supposed to help them avoid the

pitfalls of a large school system and

educate students from areas where local schools are failing. Madeleine

Sackler's documentary The Lottery (thelotteryfilm.com)

follows four families in Harlem who have entered their children in the

lottery for the Harlem Success Academy. Each of these families comes

from challenging circumstances. Most of the parents are single, one is

disabled and another's husband is in prison, but they are

committed to getting their child a good education. Of course,

not everyone will get in: there's simply too much demand to enroll in

these excellent schools. Sackler also interviews founders and CEOs of charter schools, principals, goes to political and community hearings about charter

schools, and follows protesters, giving a comprehensive view of the

charter school debate (though she is clearly pro-charter school).

After

the movie's screening at the Tribeca Film Festival, there was a panel discussion that included Joel Klein, the

chancellor of New York City schools; Eva Moskowitz, the founder and

CEO of Success Charter Network, which founded the Harlem Success

Academy; Sackler, and Karl Willingham, a parent profiled in the

movie. Most of the questions and comments were positive towards

charter schools, but some dissented. While charter school advocates claim

all parents they have ever met want their children to have a good

education, others believe that charter schools self-select since

parents must enter their children in a lottery to attend--an extra step

apathetic parents might not attempt.

Two people came up to the microphone, talking about how they cried

the whole way through the film. For many, it was the moment where a

parent said "No one ever told me I could be an astronaut" that broke

them down. Another, interviewed from prison, referred to Harlem

Success Academy's goal that every one of their students becomes a

college graduate. "No one ever told me I could be a college graduate,"

the inmate said, tears welling up in his eyes. These powerful moments

helped focus the attention on the children. Politics aside (and this issue is ALL about politics), people want to see children educated and told that they can be successful college graduates. The method does not seem to matter as much as the results.

Issues of race were also brought up. One person asked about the

"inarticulate" answers given by the people dissenting against Harlem Success

Academy's expansion. In one documentary segment, for example, angry

parents speak out by calling the expansion "disrespectful," a coded word

that includes issues of power and disenfranchisement. They didn't

expand on the term, I believe, because the word spoke for itself--to their

community. Later, a couple of viewers called the questioner out on his

insensitive comment, which they felt showed ignorance and racism.

Charter schools are itching to expand, and as the issue heats up this documentary is likely to receive more play. The passionate audience included State Senator Craig Johnson,

who made an important decision in favor of charter schools, people

carrying Teach for America tote bags, public school teachers, and many

passionate parents and children (the ones featured in the film were

also there). Sackler revealed that the documentary will go into a

roughly 100-theatre run, and many screenings for special-interest

communities are likely to go along with it. And it's not the only kid

on the block. Sundance documentary Waiting for Superman also explored failing public schools, indicating that the issue is moving into the public spotlight.