‘Superman’ Town Hall for D.C. Parents

By Bill Turque WashingtonPost.com “Waiting for Superman,” the edu-documentary that is high on charter schools and tough on teachers’ unions, may have been shut out of the Academy Award nominations, but it’s enjoying a long half-life as an organizing tool. Participant Media, the film’s producer, is partnering with a coalition of local school and community groups to hold a “town hall” at 6 p.m. Monday at THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. There will be clips from the movie, a panel discussion (Amanda Ripley, TIME contributor and author; Khala Johnson, founding principal, KIPP DC; Charles Adams, Head of School, SEED School of Washington and Natanya Levioff, D.C. program director, GreatSchools) and an “action center” with tools to help parents better navigate the city’s public education system. It looks pretty charter-centric, but organizers also promise help for parents in making selections for the DCPS Out-of-Boundary enrollment lottery. The deadline for entering the lottery is midnight Monday. The event is part of Participant’s social action campaign based on the movie, which launched former chancellor Michelle Rhee’s career into the stratosphere. The aim is “leveraging the momentum and engaging the community — with a particular focus on providing resources/support to parents,” spokesman Sean Walsh said in an e-mail. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcschools/2011/02/superman_town_hall_for_dc_pare.html