Have an Opinion about America's Schools?
PUBLIC CAN DISCUSS CONCERNS WITH MOVIE STAR, PRODUCER,
TOP EDUCATORS, WHEN DOCUMENTARY, TOWN MEETING PROBE
INEQUITY IN NATION'S SCHOOLS ON NOV. 3

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 25 -- Following the free
screening of a controversial new film on American schools, the
public can join an Oscar-winning movie star, a respected producer,
nationally recognized scholars, and representatives of national and
Virginia education associations in examining how differences in
funding can impact the lives of children. 
	"Children in America's Schools," a one-hour documentary that
Bill Moyers hosted on PBS last month, will be shown at 1 p.m. in the
Omni Hotel on Sunday, Nov. 3, as part of the University of
Virginia's annual fall film festival. Immediately following the
screening, the audience can respond to and discuss the documentary's
portrayal of vast differences among inner-city, rural and suburban
schools.
	"When the documentary aired, it set off a firestorm of
debate around the country that has resulted in town meetings and a
flood of calls to host Bill Moyers," said Virginia Film Festival
Director Richard Herskowitz.
	Produced by Jeffrey Hayden with his wife, Oscar-award winner
Eva Marie Saint, the documentary takes viewers on a representative
tour of the nation's schools, clearly showing how funding
differences create schools ranging from aging, dilapidated buildings
with leaky roofs to glistening, modern facilities equipped with
high-tech media centers, science labs, sports complexes and
performing arts centers. 
	"Saint and Hayden's documentary brilliantly calls attention
to the starkly different architectural and environmental worlds that
public policy is creating for children of different social classes.
Saint and Hayden hope to further stimulate the debate on school
funding in Virginia by participating in the town meeting at the end
of this year's festival," Herskowitz said.
	Joining them at the town meeting, sponsored by the
University's Curry School of Education, will be numerous U.Va.
faculty, including "Cultural Literacy" author E.D. Hirsch Jr. ,
Curry School Dean David W. Breneman and Deborah Verstegen, an
associate professor of education who is an expert in school funding.
Also on the panel will be representatives of numerous education
groups including Alfred Butler, executive director, Virginia
Association of School Superintendents; Cherie James, president,
Virginia Education Association; Reg Weaver, vice-president, National
Education Association; and a representative of the Virginia School
Boards Association.
	Among other education representatives on the panel are
Richard T. LaPointe, superintendent of public instruction, Virginia
Department of Education; W. W. Bennett, chair, Virginia Commission
of the Future of Public Education; Rev. George Conway, chair,
Virginia Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure, and Mary
Gormley, president, Virginia Parent Teachers Association. Mitch Van
Yahres (D-57th District) from the Virginia House of Delegates will
be on the panel, and Dan Duke, director of U.Va.'s Thomas Jefferson
Center for Educational Design, will be moderator. 
	For the first time, the Curry School Film Festival has
joined the Virginia Film Festival to offer programs addressing
education and media literacy issues. In addition to the documentary
screening, the two festivals will offer the following free programs
on Saturday, Nov. 2, in Ruffner Hall Auditorium:
	¥ Video producer Austin Allen (whose work "Claiming Open
Spaces" will
screen on Friday, Nov. 1, at the Vinegar Hill Theatre) will present
sections from his newest documentary, "The Million Man March," from
1 to 3 p.m.
	¥ Independent filmmaker Jonathan Mednick will present
"Opposite
Camps," a film exploring relationships between inner-city children
and their middle-class white counselors during summer camp, from 4
to 6 p.m. A panel discussion will follow the screening. 	¥
Producer Jeffrey Hayden will present "Primary Colors: The Story of
Corita," an award-winning documentary about an inspiring teacher and
artist, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
	For more information on the screenings, call the Virginia
Film Festival at (804) 982-5277 or visit its homepage on the World
Wide Web at http://www.virginia.edu/~vafilm.
###
October 24, 1996
	Television reporters should call our TV News Office at (804)
924-7550.



Panelists at the Nov. 3 Town Meeting at the Omni Hotel 
Following the 1 p.m. screening of "Children in America's Schools" 


Eva Marie Saint
Jeffrey Hayden
Saint/Hayden Company
Los Angeles, CA

The Honorable Mitch Van Yahres
House of Delegates
Richmond, VA

Penelope M. Earley
Senior Director
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Washington, DC

John Craig
Virginia School Boards Association
Charlottesville, VA

Cass Cannon
Virginia School Boards Association
Charlottesville, VA

Alfred Butler
Executive Director
Virginia Association of School Superintendents
Charlottesville, VA

E.D. Hirsch Jr.
U.Va.'s Linden Kent Memorial Professor of English
Charlottesville, VA

Richard T. LaPointe
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Virginia Department of Education
Richmond, VA

Cherie James
President
Virginia Education Association
Richmond, VA

Reg Weaver
Vice President
National Education Association
Washington, DC

Deborah Verstegen
Associate Professor of Education
U.Va.'s Curry School of Education
Charlottesville, VA

Rev. George Conway
Chair
Virginia Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure
Charlottesville, VA

Joyce A. Murphy
Past Board Member
Association of Teacher Educators
Pasadena, MD

James Cooper
Commonwealth Professor of Education
U.Va.'s Curry School of Education
Charlottesville, VA

David W. Breneman
Dean
U.Va.'s Curry School of Education
Charlottesville, VA

W.W. Bennett
Chair
Virginia Commission of the Future of Public Education
Richmond, VA

Mary Gormley
President
Virginia Parent Teachers Association
Richmond, VA

Panel Moderator:
Daniel Duke
Director
Thomas Jefferson Center for Educational Design
U.Va.'s Curry School of Education
Charlottesville, VA