PBS Documentaries by CERT

CERT documentaries nationally televised over the
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS):

Black American Conservatism: An Exploration of Ideas (1992)

Liberating America's Schools" (1993)

The New Urban Renewal: Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods (1997)
--a three-documentary series:
... "Rebuilding Neighborhoods from the Ground Up"
... "Investing in the Next Generation"
... "No Place Like Home"

Charter Schools That Work (2000)

Closing the Achievement Gap (2004)

BLACK AMERICAN CONSERVATISM: AN EXPLORATION OF IDEAS

Beginning with the republicanism of Frederick Douglas, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Clarence Page reviews the history of black American conservatism, and explains the economic nationalism of Booker T. Washington and the enterprising concepts of black entrepreneurs and industrialists from the late 1800s to the present day.

Archival photos, rare footage, and historical narratives present the ideas that have caused many leaders of the black community to question standard civil right rhetoric and to doubt the ability of government agencies to create better opportunities for African Americans. Then take a close look at successful programs that emphasize a "bootstraps" philosophy of self-help for communities of color.
(60 minutes)

LIBERATING AMERICAS SCHOOLS

In the national debate over school reform, "school choice" has become the solution most frequently touted by political and business leaders.

This documentary takes you to the grass roots level and shows the school choice movement through the eyes of parents, students, teachers, administrators, and community activists who have tried "choice" as a means of achieving better schools.

Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist Clarence Page examines choice programs in Milwaukee, East Harlem, and Minnesota. Hear from the architects of this program as well as their critics, such as Albert Shanker, President of the American Federation of Teachers, and Jonathan Kozol, author of the best selling book "Savage Inequalities."
(60 minutes)

THE NEW URBAN RENEWAL: RECLAIMING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

Across America, low-income neighborhoods are being reclaimed not by top-down programs out of Washington but by local people using local initiative to address a variety of local needs. Residents are rehabilitating their communities, creating employment opportunities, and preparing their children for meaningful, productive lives. Emphasizing self-responsibility, local control, and entrepreneurship, grassroots efforts are transforming the nation's urban agenda. The 3-part series is reported and written by syndicated columnist Clarence Page of the "Chicago Tribune."
(60 minutes x 3)

DOCUMENTARY ONE: "Rebuilding Neighborhoods from the Ground Up"
This program features the stories of community development corporations, or CDC's: non-profit groups formed by urban residents that focus on developing both housing and economic opportunities. CDC's such as the East Brooklyn Congregations, an organization of ministers and congregations who have pooled their talents and resources, have worked to establish housing, health and educational opportunities for the working poor of their community, turning rubble-strewn lots into viable, safe neighborhoods. The program also features reports on how a growing number of inner city residents, including those from riot-devastated areas of Los Angeles, are using private and public financing to develop economic opportunities and turn old slum dwellings into newer, more affordable housing for low-income residents.

DOCUMENTARY TWO: "Investing in the Next Generation"
This episode features several innovative programs aimed at teaching disadvantaged youth the value of education and marketable skills through mentoring relationships and early prevention programs. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas are profiled. They use a variety of activities, including sports, role-playing, and speakers to give the children of low-income families a safe haven from the pressures of gangs, drugs, and teen pregnancy. A story on the Philadelphia chapter of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), an organization dedicated to teaching young people how to start their own businesses, follows several teens on a field trip to the wholesale district in New York City. The final segment features the READY Program, a unique operation that focuses as much attention on the parents as it does the children, helping them to attain education and employment as well as increase their participation in their children's lives. This program, the second of a three part series, is reported and written by syndicated columnist Clarence Page of the "Chicago Tribune."

DOCUMENTARY THREE: "No Place Like Home"
The final installment of this three-part series features the stories of residents who have been allowed to take over management of the public housing projects in which they live, in many instances improving both maintenance and security while restoring a sense of stability and community. Several successful examples including, Bromley Heath in Boston, Massachusetts and Kenilworth/Parkside in Washington, D.C., are profiled.

CHARTER SCHOOLS THAT WORK

Clarence Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the "Chicago Tribune," reports on this examination of the emergence, perspective and practice of this relatively young education reform movement. More than 15 years ago, the report "A Nation at Risk" revealed that America's public schools are failing children, especially in poorer neighborhoods. In 1998, "A Nation Still at Risk" shared the startling fact that nearly 25 million young people reach the 12th grade without knowing the essentials of American history. Today, public schools continue to receive funds and teachers continue to get paid -- in fact, teachers receive pay increases regardless of how well the students perform. In contrast, the charter-school movement attracts teachers who are willing to say, "We can improve student achievement, and we'll stake our school's existence as well as our jobs on that fact."

Beginning in 1992 with the first charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota, the number has grown to nearly 1,700 schools serving more than 350,000 students in 36 states. Charter schools are public schools, usually run by teachers and parents, and held accountable for student achievement.

Now, explore the challenges faced by this burgeoning movement through the experiences of six pioneering institutions -- from Los Angeles to Houston to Boston.
(60 minutes)

CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Clarence Page tells the story of Amistad Academy, a charter school founded in 1999 by a group of Yale Law School graduate students who enlisted the help of local business and community leaders. Amistad serves about 250 students in grades five through eight; 97% of whom are African-American and Latino. 84% of the children qualify for the federal free lunch program. These students represent a population traditionally underserved by the district public school system; they enter Amistad in the fifth grade, on average more than two years below grade level. But by the time they leave Amistad in the eighth grade, most of these urban kids are doing as well or better than their white suburban counterparts.
(60 minutes)

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