Over the past few years, 鈥減arent trigger鈥� laws have been touted in school districts and statehouses as bold, even radical, strategies for fixing struggling schools, though the policies have also proved divisive, giving rise to lawsuits and political rancor. This fall, the trigger concept will be judged in a very different forum, with its own standards for success: the box office.
On Sept. 28, the movie 鈥淲on鈥檛 Back Down,鈥� a fictional account of frustrated parents seeking to transform a school in Pittsburgh, is scheduled to open in theaters around the country. The to the film says that it is 鈥渋nspired by actual events,鈥� leading to speculation that it will closely mirror real-life examples of parents attempting to use trigger policies to take control of low-performing schools in Compton and Adelanto, Calif.
The movie, distributed by 20th Century Fox and produced by Walden Media, stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as a parent and Viola Davis as a teacher who work together to marshal support in the community for a petition to overhaul the school and resuscitate it academically.
But that story line has stirred fears among critics of parent-trigger laws that 鈥淲on鈥檛 Back Down鈥� will extol those policies, ignore their shortcomings, and cast blame for schools鈥� struggles primarily on teachers.
Parent-trigger policies typically allow parents to overhaul the structure and operations of their schools, by replacing their staff, converting schools to charters, or other means, if a majority of parents sign petitions agreeing to those changes. The impact of those laws thus far has been limited, partly because of legal challenges, but also because the policies are so new and low-performing schools are not yet subject to those overhauls.
Backers of trigger policies say they empower parents who lack the legal rights and political clout to make sweeping changes to schools. Others say the laws divide communities, cast unfair blame for schools鈥� ills on teachers, and leave parents vulnerable to dubious ideas for improving schools put forward by those outside their communities, such as charter school operators.
The policy鈥檚 primary testing ground so far has been California, where legislators approved a trigger law in 2010. A petition drive to transform a struggling school in Compton stalled amid acrimony and a legal standoff. A separate effort in the Adelanto school system, northeast of Los Angeles, appears to have gained new momentum following a judge鈥檚 ruling last month backing a parents鈥� petition to convert a low-performing elementary school to a charter.
Accurate Account?
Caroline Grannan, a member of Parents Across America, a nationwide advocacy group which has about 鈥淲on鈥檛 Back Down,鈥� said she worries it will offer a similar message to the 2010 documentary 鈥淲aiting for 鈥楽uperman.鈥� 鈥� That film described families鈥� efforts to obtain a sound education for their children, but was panned by many teachers who said it unfairly cast educators as primarily responsible for schools鈥� shortcomings. (Walden Media co-produced 鈥淲aiting for 鈥楽uperman.鈥� 鈥�)
Ms. Grannan acknowledged that, like other critics, her reading of the new movie鈥檚 message is speculative: As of a recent interview, she was basing her views of 鈥淲on鈥檛 Back Down鈥� on the trailer, since it is still nearly two months from its official release. But she says those snippets suggest the film will gloss over the friction and uncertainty spawned in communities like Compton and Adelanto by parent-trigger proposals, and present the 鈥渂ad teacher鈥� as the central obstacle to improving schools.
鈥淚t鈥檚 likely to contribute to a climate in which teachers are blamed,鈥� Ms. Grannan said of the film. Efforts to use parent-trigger policies, she said, have 鈥渄evolved into conflict and chaos,鈥� and any film that suggests otherwise is 鈥渃ompletely false.鈥�
School improvement does not occur through 鈥渋nstant miracles,鈥� she added, 鈥渂ut Hollywood loves them.鈥�
But David Weil, the chief executive officer of the , of which Walden Media is a part, said those concerns are off the mark.
Mr. Weil, in an email, said the story is not tied to 鈥渁ny one law or event,鈥� and that the film depicts a number of parents and teachers鈥攐ne of whom is portrayed by Ms. Davis, a recent Oscar nominee鈥攃ollaborating to make changes to a school, not doing battle. Several key characters, he said, 鈥渁re teachers and are central heroes to the story.鈥�
鈥淲e believe that teachers are the unsung heroes of our society and they represent our hope for the future as a nation,鈥� Mr. Weil said. 鈥淲hen audiences screen the film in its entirety, they鈥檒l find that the film tells the story of a school where the majority of the teachers are engaged and working to find solutions to the challenges they face in the system.鈥�
The Anschutz official cautioned against judging 鈥淲on鈥檛 Back Down鈥� by its trailer. 鈥淲ould you judge a book by its cover?鈥� he said. While the preview 鈥渄epicts some of the story lines and issues that are featured in the film,鈥� he said, it is not meant to 鈥渟ummarize the plot.鈥�
