The Cartel Movie: Education and Politics Equal Money

I received this email from my friend, Anastasia, about the movie, The Cartel, where education and politics spells money.  As many of you might know, our governor slashed state funding from all of our schools.  Our taxes in New Jersey are one of the highest in the country.  The sad part is many schools despite being given more money than others are still failing while others are trying to stay above water.

According to the Cartel website,

“New Jersey offers a dramatic instance of this corruption and improvidence. After New York, no other state spends as much per pupil—but the Garden State has very little to show for its investment. Spending can exceed $400,000 per classroom, and yet only 39 percent of the state’s eighth-graders are proficient or advanced readers, and only 40 percent of its eighth-graders are proficient or advanced in math. Of new high school graduates attending the state’s community colleges, nearly 80 percent require remediation. More than three quarters of New Jersey’s high schools have been warned that they may be placed on the state’s list of failing schools. And the problem is not one of inadequate funding: Some of the worst schools receive—and squander—the most money.” (emphasis added.)

But that is not all.  New Jersey is not the only state with problems.  How many stories have you heard of kids graduating from high school who can’t read? The Cartel website further states:

“Only 35 percent of American high school seniors are proficient readers. Only 23 percent are proficient in math. Nationwide, only 74 percent of ninth graders graduate within four years—and that number drops to about 50 percent for black and Hispanic students. Twelve percent of American high schools are “dropout factories”—schools where less than 60 percent of freshmen even make it to their senior year. It comes as no surprise, then, that America lags far behind other developed countries when it comes to schooling: Among large industrialized countries, America ranks last in educational effectiveness—despite spending the most.”

Watch the below movie clip from Bowdon Media.   It is a powerful clip.  See here for more information about the movie.

Where can you see the entire documentary?

1.) The Cartel has been selected to screen at the 2010 National Charter School Conference in Chicago in late June. Other events will include Keynote Speeches from Bill Gates, Co-Chair Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Reed Hastings, Founder & CEO, Netflix. Full details soon to be released here:  National Charter School Conference

2.) Look for a live TV interview with The Cartel’s Director Bob Bowdon on the Fox Business Network’sVarney & Co. (with Stuart Varney), this Friday, May 28, 10:30-11amEDT.

3.) New Jersey residents can catch a TV interview with The Cartel’s Director Bob Bowdon on News 12 New Jersey’s 12 in Our Schools , which will air on a rotating schedule throughout the weekend of May 29-30.

4.) The Cartel will screen every night through Thursday, May 27 in Columbus, OH, at the Gateway Film Center, affiliated with the Ohio State University. Information is available here:
Gateway Film Center

5.) The Cartel will screen July 2-8 in Peoria, IL at the Peoria Theater. Information will soon be available here:
Peoria Theater

6.) Fresh New Screenings in New Jersey, this week & next week:

May 26 7:30pm Mount Laurel, NJ Enterprise Center, 3331 Route 38

June 2 7pm Westfield, NJ Rialto Theater, 250 East Broad Street

June 2 9pm Westfield, NJ Rialto Theater, 250 East Broad Street

June 3 7:30pm Hawthorne, NJ Hawthorne Theatre, 300 Lafayette Avenue

For more information as to when the next screening will be, check here.

Send a copy of this article to all of your friends.  Read here how you can take action to change our school climate.

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