Greendale Teachers Sponsoring "Backpack Full of Cash" Documentary

From Greendale Schools: The Greendale Education Association (GEA) will sponsor a screening of the documentary “Backpack Full of Cash” on Monday, April 16, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Greendale High School, 6801 Southway, Greendale. Following the film, there will be time for community questions and an invitation to Part 2 of the program, a community forum on the “Impact of School Choice on Public Schools” on Monday, May 21, 2018 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. also at Greendale High School. Both events are free and open to the public.

BACKPACK FULL OF CASH follows the tumultuous 2013-14 school year in Philadelphia and other cities where public education – starved of resources and undermined by privatization – is at risk. The documentary also showcases a model for improving schools - a well-resourced public school system in Union City, New Jersey, where poor kids are getting a high quality education without charters or vouchers. BACKPACK FULL OF CASH makes the case for public education as a basic civil right.

The film features genuine heroes like the principals, teachers, activists, parents and most hearteningly, students who are fighting for their education. Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, writer David Kirp and policy expert Linda Darling Hammond are among the national thought leaders who provide analysis in the film. It was directed by Sarah Mondale and produced by Vera Aronow.

Panelists for the May 21 community forum on the “Impact of School Choice on Public Schools” will include individuals representing various positions on school choice. They are Dr. Timothy Slekar, Dean of the Edgewood College School of Education; Jim Bender, President of School Choice Wisconsin; and Jeff Pertl, Senior Policy Advisor to State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tony Evers.

Dr. Slekar is one of the founding members of Education Deans for Justice and Equity . He has been a radio co-host on podcast, local and national radio as well as on numerous television news shows as an expert education policy analyst, including MSNBC, CNN and Fox News. Bender is the former Chief of Staff and spokesman for former Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald. He been a strong advocate of choice as a means to provide quality educational opportunities for all students and give parents the power to make critical decisions about their child’s education. Pertl works on fiscal and education policy issues with the Department of Public Instruction. He worked previously for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Wisconsin State Senate, Broydrick & Associations, College Access Foundation of California, and the United Council of UW-Students.

“Backpack Full of Cash” filmmakers are part of the team that made the award-winning, four-part PBS series SCHOOL: The Story of American Public Education narrated by Meryl Streep. BACKPACK is a follow up to the SCHOOL series, and a rebuttal to the widely seen 2010 documentary Waiting for Superman.

Image courtesy of Greendale Schools