Inspired by true events, this is the story of two working moms (played by Academy Award nominated actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis) who battle entrenched and powerful special interests to transform their children’s failing inner city school.
Won’t Back Down is released by Walden Media, the same production house that created nationally released hit films like The Chronicles of Narnia, Bridge to Terabithia, and Because of Winn-Dixie. Won’t Back Down has been described as gripping, emotional, and entertaining. Important for those of us interested in improving education in America, Won't Back Down has the potential to put the issue of school choice front and center in our national dialogue, and at kitchen tables across America.
Can't make this event but interested in school choice? Come to our upcoming breakfast policy forum (also free) on October 9th, "For Profit Charter School Management: International Lessons from SABIS" with ames Tooley, Professor of Education Policy at Newcastle University and author of From Village School to Global Brand: Changing the World Through Education, and an all-star panel: Jim Peyser, New Schools Venture Fund; Basan Nembirkow, retired Superintendent; and Kathie Skinner, Massachusetts Teachers Association.
We want to thank everyone who attended our 21st annual Better Government Competition Awards Dinner. We'll have video available soon, but want to congratulate this year's winners, Grace-Marie Turner, Galen Institute, and Robert Helms, Ph.D., American Enterprise Institute, for their entry: Coordinated Care Management for Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries. You can read their entry and the runners up and special recognition awardees in our 21st Better Government Competition Compendium of Winning Ideas. Also check out this Providence Journal op-ed by Josh Archambault and Jim Stergios describing Massachusetts' plans to implement the ideas proposed in the winning entry.
Last week, we hosted an education policy event in which we released new research showing that Common Core national education standards will cut the amount of classic literature in K-12 classrooms by 50%. Here's coverage of it in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette (here and here), the New York Daily News.