Related Event: The Principal Story Documentary
On Tuesday September 15 at 10:20pm, PBS will be airing an important new documentary - The Principal Story. The documentary tells two stories, painting a dramatic portrait of the challenges facing America’s public schools – and of the great difference a dedicated principal can make.
Tresa Dunbar is a second-year principal at Chicago’s Nash Elementary, where 98% of students come from low-income families; in Springfield, Illinois, Kerry Purcell has led Harvard Park Elementary, with similar demographics, for six years. With these statistics come a host of familiar problems — lack of funding, teacher turnover, low attendance rates, low test scores and the corresponding lures of drugs, gangs and violence. Tod Lending ("Omar & Pete," P.O.V. 2005) and David Mrazek followed both women over the course of a school year, discovering each one’s unique styles yet similar passions. The Principal Story takes the viewer along for an emotional ride that reveals what effective educational leadership looks like in the 21st century. Click here to go to the event website.
For more information, contact Cathy Fisher at 212-989-7425 or cfisher@pov.org.
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