AMNA NAWAZ: Joseph Martinez# is the longtime principal of## Carpenter Community Charter School in# Los Angeles.

And families know him as## the principal who literally picks up trash in# the morning and dresses up for school plays,## but also as the steady hand through fires,# immigration fears, and lockdown drills.

In tonight's Brief But Spectacular,## Martinez makes the case for why public# education remains a smart investment.

JOSEPH MARTINEZ, Principal, Carpenter# Community Charter: Public education, to me,## is equivalent to our democracy.

If we don't# have a strong public education system that## will accept everyone, that will be competitive# with all the private schools in the area, then## I don't see our democracy thriving# as it has for the past 250 years.

I am the principal of Carpenter# Community Charter in Studio City,## Los Angeles, California.

I'm responsible# for approximately 900 students daily.## Whatever it takes to engage children at an# elementary school, I am game for it.

I have## been everything from Elliott from "E.T.,"# Willy Wonka.

I have been Woody, the cowboy,## setting the tone and embrace elementary# school for all that it has to offer.

There is no job that is above or below me,# if that's cutting the grass or if that's## picking up trash.

I hope that they# see that everybody has to pitch in,## that they have to participate in# order for their community to thrive.

So I'm born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada.# Everybody in my family worked in the service## industry.

My mother and my grandmother both# worked in the kitchens at various hotels.

My## father was a bellman.

So I grew up watching# everybody in my family be service-oriented.

As a school administrator in Los Angeles now, I# try to have that same mentality.

I think of it as## a hotel to give everybody the greatest experience# in elementary school that they could have.

One of the reasons why I'm not in private# education is because we accept everyone.## LAUSD is a sanctuary school district and that# means that any family that enrolls their child## for school has a safe place for that child# to be at school so that they can learn.

We don't turn anyone away.

At all LAUSD public# schools, we have meetings and we have resources## for immigrant families that are facing a crisis# or any kind of a situation involving ICE.

My father came from Mexico.

He did not have# his citizenship until very late in his life.## So I understand the struggles and the challenges# of immigrant families and their children.

I love## building relationships.

I would go visit# my parents when they worked in hotels,## and I was always amazed at how much of a family# it really was with my mother and the people she## worked with in the kitchens or my father and# the people he worked with that were all bellmen.

Whatever job I was going to have in the future,## I wanted to have that.

So that's my favorite# part of my job is building community,## building relationships and building a# support network for our school community.

My name is Joseph Martinez, and this is my Brief## But Spectacular take on bringing# hospitality to public education.

AMNA NAWAZ: And you can watch more Brief But## Spectacular videos online# at PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.