Two years ago, I saw a TV report about thousands of parents entering their children into a charter school enrollment lottery in Harlem. Only one out of every seven students could get in.
It’s a commonly held belief that students in low-income and minority communities perform poorly at school because of poverty or because their parents either don't care enough or value education. So why were these parents in Harlem turning out in such numbers to attend an admission lottery they had little chance of winning?
I decided to make a film, which became The Lottery, to answer that question. What I found is that parents, even those down on their luck, care tremendously about their kids' education.
Just as importantly, I uncovered some of the core reasons why public schools in low-income and minority neighborhoods are failing students across the country. By getting to know four families going through the lottery process, I saw first-hand the urgent need for education reform. The Lottery , which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, opened last Friday at Big Cinemas in New York. This Friday, it will be opening both in Los Angeles at Laemmle Music Hall and at another NYC theater, Cinema Village. For more information and tickets, please visit: www.thelotteryfilm.com.\n
Madeleine Sackler makes her directorial debut in The Lottery, a highly acclaimed feature feature-length documentary. A graduate of Duke University, she currently lives in New York.\n
Share on Facebook
