"Superman" and Other Docs Aim to Spark School Reform Revolution

The highest-profile is "Waiting for Superman," directed by Davis Guggenheim who also directed the Oscar-winning, "An Inconvenient Truth" about global warming.

"The Lottery" by Madeleine Sackler focuses on four families in New York City who have entered their children into two charter school lotteries and "Race to Nowhere" is director Vicki Abeles' personal look at the grinding pressures on students to succeed.

Another film, "August to June" takes a more positive approach by documenting a year at a progressive school in California.

A school system in trouble

	President Obama has pushed for nationwide education reform since the U.S. education system has been slipping in international rankings.

Most students in the United States attend public schools – 89 percent.  Once the global leader in quality education, the U.S. has fallen far behind other countries: 21st in science out of 30 developed countries and 25th in math.  In 2009, 69 percent of eighth graders scored below proficient in reading. 

President Obama has said that a "high-quality education for all children is critical to America’s economic future."

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that the system is in a crisis that must be fixed, for "economic, civil rights and national security reasons... we have to move and we have to move now.”

Students pin their hopes on charter schools

	Charter schools like the Harlem Success Academy in New York City are in high demand and students are admitted through a competitive lottery system.

The producers of the recent documentaries hope poignant stories about children in struggling neighborhoods who pin their hopes for a good education on getting a spot at an over-subscribed charter schools will spark a broad-based effort to fix the system.

Charter schools are experimental public schools that are not subject to some of the regulations of the public school system. Many have become inspiring success stories, helping students regain confidence, perform well on tests and go on to four-year colleges.

In "Superman", Anthony is a fifth-grader at one of the worse-performing schools in the country.  He has lived with his grandparents since his father died of a drug overdose.  Anthony has applied to the SEED charter school where almost all graduates go on to college.  But to get in, Anthony needs to enter a lottery—61 students have applied for just 24 spots.

Around the country, hundreds thousands of students enter similar lotteries every year.

Are charter schools the answer?

	National Teacher's Union President Randi Weingarten criticized 'Waiting for Superman' for villainizing 'bad' teachers and unions.

But there is debate over whether charter schools are the answer.  Some critics argue that they draw resources and students away from neighborhood schools. 

Most teacher unions oppose charter schools because they are allowed to hire non-unionized teachers.

Teacher unions, like unions for other occupations, are organizations that negotiate for better pay, work conditions and job security. But in "Waiting for Superman," unions are portrayed as obstacles to school reformers who seek to fire teachers for poor performance.

The head of the country's biggest teacher's union, the American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten criticized "Superman" for painting 'bad' teachers and teachers unions as the villains, and charter schools as heroes ready to save the day."

In reality, Weingarten points out, the majority of charter schools are not "saving" students and face the same performance problems as regular public schools. 

Will debate lead to change?

	Education leaders like Geoffrey Canada, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Teacher's Union President Randi Weingarted sat down for a panel discussion.

Speaking on a panel with Weingarten this week, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said unions are both "huge part of the solution, and a huge part of the problem."

One of the biggest problems, Duncan continued, is finding and keeping the best teachers.  To do this, the Department of Education is set to launch a national teaching campaign to recruit the next generation of teachers. One third of the nation's teachers are retiring in the next couple of years and the Obama administration wants to replace them with a diverse force of well trained and paid professionals.

The Department is also targeting the bottom five percent performing schools, often referred to as "drop-out factories."

Duncan said he hopes the "Superman" documentary and other films galvanize the American public to participate in change.

"Once you see how much these poor families want a good education," he said, "there are no excuses not to give every child the chance at a brighter future."