We are pleased to announce that GO PUBLIC won Honorable Mention at the 2016 Pasadena International Film Festival (PIFF) in March. The film opened the festival screening at the Laemmle Theater in Pasadena, CA followed by a Q & A with the filmmakers and local educator, Dr. Abrahamson. GO PUBLIC has […]
Blog »
Colleges and Universities Continue to GO PUBLIC
GO PUBLIC is being screened in colleges and universities across the country. Education departments are incorporating the film as curriculum in classes and utilizing the college discussion guide as a helpful resource. Colleges are also sponsoring community screenings, which engage the larger community in the critical conversation about […]
Library Journal Recommends GO PUBLIC
We recently discovered this terrific review of GO PUBLIC by Library Journal. “This film is the exciting result of the Go Public Project, which sent 50 filmmakers into 28 schools in the Pasadena, CA, School District on the same day to capture the life of an American school […]
Realtors: Helping to Change Misperceptions
Realtors influence the perception of local public schools. They are often the first contact for many people considering a move into a new city. Unfortunately, as is the case in Pasadena, realtors often repeat misinformation without having an up-to-date, accurate understanding about how the local public schools are […]
World Channel Adds GO PUBLIC to their American Graduate Collection
GO PUBLIC will once again air nationally on Public Televisions’s World Channel, September 27 – October 2 as part of their American Graduate Collection. World Channel presents a “week of documentaries that bring to focus the continuing challenges facing students, parents, teachers and administrators. Inspired by the American Graduate: Let’s Make […]
World Channel Screens GO PUBLIC!
The feature GO PUBLIC documentary has been airing on Public Television stations for months but there was an unprecedented opportunity for audiences to see the film when the World Channel aired the film on all of their stations in 33 states over a two-week period. The stations airing […]
GO PUBLIC on PBS Stations Nationwide
GO PUBLIC is currently airing on PBS stations across the nation. Since its PBS debut, GO PUBLIC has aired 650 times, on 232 channels, in 40 states and 115 markets. IF YOU DON’T SEE YOUR LOCAL STATION LISTED…CALL AND REQUEST THEY AIR GO PUBLIC! We will keep our […]
GO PUBLIC Hosts National Webcast
GO PUBLIC in conjunction with Pasadena City College co-sponsored a live webcast entitled, Myth or Reality: Public Education is Broken and Must Be Fixed. In studio guests included: Superintendent/President of Pasadena City College, Jon Gundry, Superintendent of the Pasadena Unified School District, William Wong, Gabrielino High School Math Teacher […]
American Film Showcase Selection
GO PUBLIC was honored to be an AMERICAN FILM SHOWCASE (AFS) selection. The USC School of Cinematic Arts sponsors the program funded by a major grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). In concert with a panel of filmmakers, academics and festival organizers, […]
Edutopia Honors GO PUBLIC
We are very honored to announce that GO PUBLIC was selected by Edutopia as one of the five best educational documentaries of the past two years. Special congratulations to our editor, Jeff Johns, for being named Best Editor! He did an incredible job of weaving 350+ hours of […]
New Haven, Denver, McLean & Greensboro
These are just a few of the places that the GO PUBLIC film has screened or will screen: Connecticut, California, Colorado, Virginia, Iowa, Illinois, North Carolina, New York. The GO PUBLIC film is resonating with communities across the U.S. The next screening is in Greensboro, North Carolina on […]
GO PUBLIC Benefit Screening on Jan. 22
Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF) is hosting a TUGG benefit screening of GO PUBLIC on Wednesday, January 22nd (please see details below). This screening is raising funds for PEF’s signature Teacher Grants program. Funding for the program was previously underwritten by banking institutions that no longer exist. All donations […]
Reclaim the Promise of Public Education
December 9th was “National Day of Action” to “Reclaim the Promise of Public Education”, a day of recommitment to public schools—our nation’s gateway to democracy and racial and economic justice. GO PUBLIC screened in New Haven, Connecticut as part of their call to action to create a new […]
American Education Week: NEA and GO PUBLIC
The NEA is encouraging people to sponsor screenings of GO PUBLIC as part of their American Education Week celebration. And we are encouraging our GO PUBLIC followers to take the American Education Week pledge. Do you want smaller class sizes for students, professional respect for educators, and the […]
Tugg Screenings in Pasadena
The first of our Tugg screenings have been scheduled for Pasadena, CA, in December and January. Because these events have a pre-sale threshold in order to book the theater, please buy your tickets as soon as possible. For information on how the Tugg screenings work, please visit our […]
GO PUBLIC Screens at NEA Student Conference
Friday, November 8th at 9PM, GO PUBLIC screened at the NEA Student Connections Conference in Las Vegas, NV. We were honored to have been asked to share the film and lead a Q&A following the screening. Students attended from more than 60 colleges representing over 30 states. The […]
President’s Innovation Award
We were very honored to have recently received the Presidents Innovation Award at the Burbank International Film Festival. Fritz Coleman was on hand to present us with the award and it was a wonderful opportunity for us to once again share the GO PUBLIC message that public education […]
GO PUBLIC Goes Public Across the Nation!
GO PUBLIC has now screened or will screen in Iowa, Illinois, New York, North Carolina and California. College libraries are purchasing the film for their education departments including Kent State, UNC at Chapel Hill, American University, Knox College, Westmont College and Loyola Marymount University. We are very […]
Named Best Documentary at Catalina Film Festival
We are pleased to share that GO PUBLIC: A Day in the Life of an American School District won Best Documentary at the Catalina Film Festival. We are very honored to have received this award.
Upcoming Screenings This Weekend!
GO PUBLIC will be screening at three different Southern California events the weekend of Sept. 21 – 22. On Saturday, the film will be shown as part of the Catalina Film Festival. Tickets are available here. At 12:15pm Sunday, there will be a screening and discussion at Lake […]
Official Selection at the Catalina Film Festival
We are pleased to share that GO PUBLIC: A Day in the Life of an American School District, is an official selection at the Catalina Film Festival, September 18-22 and will screen on Saturday at 1PM.
Education Builds A Lifelong Passion for the Arts
The following guest post was written by Jennifer Olson, the “My Masterpieces” Program Director at the Pasadena Educational Foundation. The K-6 program worked to integrate arts and humanities with core academic subjects and increase students’ exposure to the arts. At the beginning of this year, I found myself back at […]
GO PUBLIC Screens in Harlem
The Reel Resistance Film Series in Harlem recently screened seven of the GO PUBLIC short films followed by a community conversation. Elias Holtz shared this enthusiastic recap of the evening. “Our screening went great! We had a gathering of teachers, parents, Harlem community members, current and former students, […]
Who is the Target Audience for GO PUBLIC?
We have been asked the question, “Who exactly is your target audience for the GO PUBLIC film?” Our target audience is people who are bombarded with negative media reports and believe that public education is broken. Our target audience is people who don’t support their local public schools […]
Official Selection Burbank International Film Festival
GO PUBLIC: A Day in the Life of an American School District, was an official selection at the Burbank International Film Festival , September 4th-8th. In addition, GO PUBLIC Producers James and Dawn O’Keeffe were honored with the Presidential Innovation Award for conceptualizing and executing the 50 filmakers in one […]
GO PUBLIC: ‘Antidote’ to War on Public Schools
In an Op/Ed piece published on Truthout.com, Dr. Peter Dreier, chair of the Urban and Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College, brings to light the big money behind many well-publicized attacks on public education and offers GO PUBLIC: A Day in the Life of an American School District as “a welcome […]
Screening July 26 in Pasadena
The Conscientious Projector film series will be screening the GO PUBLIC feature documentary July 26, 2013 at 7:00pm at the All Saints Church (downstairs in the Forum) in Pasadena. Admission is free and open to the public, but a $10 per ticket donation is appreciated. Please register for […]
Get Involved. Get Inspired.
GO PUBLIC!
The following post was contributed by Robert Niles, whose son Brian was one of the GO PUBLIC student directors. If all you know about public schools comes from reading newspaper headlines, all you’d think today’s public school students do is take standardized tests. While my children, who do […]
Screening June 13 in Pasadena
The Conscientious Projector film series will be screening the GO PUBLIC feature documentary June 13, 2013 at 7:00pm at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena. Admission is free and open to the public. From the Conscientious Projector announcement: One year ago, 50 small film crews followed […]
Sparking A Dialogue
Four of the GO PUBLIC shorts were screened at the High Falls Film Festival followed by a panel discussion with education experts from the area. The panel discussion was moderated by Susan Rogers, Executive VP and General Manager of WXXI, the local PBS Station, and the panel included: […]
One Year Later…
On May 8, 2012 we filmed! On May 8, 2013 we celebrated! GO PUBLIC: A Day in the Life of an American School District May 8, 2013 7:30PM ArcLight Cinema Paseo Colorado 336 E. Colorado Blvd. 6:00 Pre-Screening Festivities Garfield Plaza at Paseo Meet the 50 Directors and […]
GO PUBLIC Screens at High Falls Film Festival on April 20, 2013
There will be a GO PUBLIC special screening and panel discussion at the High Falls Film Festival in Rochester, NY on Saturday, April 20. GO PUBLIC producers Dawn and Jim O’Keeffe will be in attendance. There will be five shorts from 50 Films shown at the event: Abigail […]
Farewell to our Editor
One month before our May 8, 2012 filming date, we made the wise decision to hire Jeff Johns as, not only one of our field directors, but also as the editor for the GO PUBLIC feature film. From the get go, Jeff had an ability to handle […]
A Shared Community Value
Pasadena has long been a tale of two cities with 35-40% of the communities children attending private schools. Of the students who attend public school, the majority (65-70%) are considered lower socio-economic status (SES). Groups like the Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF), Pasadena Education Network (PEN) and Invest […]
What Drives the GO PUBLIC Team?
I just read an article called “Changing the National Narrative About Public Schools…Next Steps” that provides a great overview of much of what has motivated the GO PUBLIC Project team throughout our journey. In particular, it stresses the importance of public education to all Americans, the need for […]