In Directorial Debut, Filmmaker Jodi Gomes Urges A Closer Look at Standardized Tests Following the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal; Highlights Unrealistic Pressure Facing Educators
Gomes’ Documentary, One Child Left Behind, to Premiere Friday, June 14 in Miami
Atlanta, GA – One Child Left Behind, the heart-wrenching documentary by filmmaker Jodi Gomes on the 2009 Atlanta Public School scandal, is a searing indictment of high stakes testing and the pressure such tests place on students, parents and educators alike. Set to premiere Friday, June 14 at 3:50 p.m. ET at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) in Miami, Fla., the film marks Gomes’ directorial debut. The press junket for the film is at 11:15 a.m. in the Loews/Sun Dial Room.
“One Child Left Behind exposes how the No Child Left Behind Act failed underserved communities,” said Jodi Gomes, acclaimed showrunner, filmmaker and the director. “One-size-fits all testing is an outdated mandate that fails to account for the social and economic disparities plaguing students across the U.S. The focus should be on how to address root causes of cheating, the harms of teaching to the tests, and crisis of underfunded public schools.”
Gomes takes us behind the headlines and into the lives of the educators and administrators implicated in the case. She highlights uncomfortable but necessary questions such as, “shouldn’t the No Child Left Behind policy have been on the stand too?” and “what if the law overstated the teachers’ involvement and understated the U.S. Department of Education’s culpability?”
Jodi Gomes is an award-winning documentarian, filmmaker and showrunner. One Child Left Behind: The Untold Atlanta Cheating Scandal is her directorial debut. She previously produced The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty (2009), Married to Medicine (2013), Laffapalooza, etc.
For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact Jennifer Farmer at jenniferr@spotlightpr.org.
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