Go Public

The subtitle of James W. O'Keeffe's documentary—A Day in the Life of an American School District—offers an accurate summary of this feature-length presentation that was edited from the work of 50 camera crews who shot fly-on-the-wall footage on May 8, 2012, at the 28 schools comprising California's Pasadena Unified School District. Go Public doesn't just include on-campus material, but instead starts with students, teachers, and administrators waking up in the morning, preparing for the day, and making their way to their respective buildings before moving to the classrooms, cafeterias, auditoriums, laboratories, hallways, and offices. Overall, the result—which includes some direct-to-camera comments from subjects but no narration or commentary—serves as an effective rebuttal to critics of American public education. Instead of depicting a troubled system characterized by uncaring teachers and unresponsive students, the film emphasizes the skill and dedication of the staff and the learning efforts of their young charges. And it culminates in its own critique as students, parents, administrators, and teachers appear before the school board to argue against slashing budgets in ways that would require curtailment of programs and the elimination of positions—pleas that, unfortunately, did not ultimately prevent severe cuts. Although one might debate whether the Pasadena USD is truly representative of school districts across the country, Go Public does offer an engrossing glimpse of hard work being done in our much maligned American education system. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)