Education Issues

Make a Circle Screening & Discussion / Exhibición y discusión de “Make a Circle”

Join WXXI and Monroe Community College (MCC) for a special screening and community conversation around the film, Make a Circle, at the MCC Downtown Campus on Wednesday, April 8. This engaging evening will bring community members together to reflect, connect, and explore the film’s themes in a welcoming space.

Únase a WXXI y a Monroe Community College (MCC, por sus siglas en ingles) para una exhibición especial y una discusión comunitaria en torno a la película “Make a Circle”, que tendrá lugar en el campus del centro de la ciudad de MCC el miércoles 8 de abril. Esta interesante tarde reunirá a miembros de la comunidad para reflexionar, conectar y explorar los temas de la película en un espacio acogedor.

Event program: Doors will open at 6 p.m. The screening of the film, Make a Circle, will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion at 7:30 p.m. The panel will feature local early childhood professionals including: Ann Marie Stephan (Executive Director of Rochester ChildFirst Network), Tiffany Howard (Early Childhood Professional at Friendship Children’s Center), and Crystal Campo (Family Child Care Provider). And, the panel will be moderated by WXXI News Reporter, Noelle Evans. The evening will also include a community resource fair with local, regional, and New York State early learning partners. Light refreshments will be provided.

Programa del evento: Las puertas se abrirán a las 6:00 p. m. La exhibición de la película “Make a Circle” comenzará a las 6:30 p. m. e irá seguida de un panel a las 7:30 p. m. El panel contará con la participación de profesionales locales de la primera infancia, entre los que se incluyen: Ann Marie Stephan (Directora Ejecutiva de Rochester ChildFirst Network), Tiffany Howard (profesional de la primera infancia en el Friendship Children’s Center) y Crystal Campo (proveedora de cuidado infantil familiar). Además, el panel estará moderado por la reportera de WXXI News, Noelle Evans. La tarde también incluirá una feria de recursos comunitarios con socios locales, regionales y del estado de Nueva York dedicados al aprendizaje temprano. Se ofrecerán refrigerios ligeros.

Family-Friendly: To help make this experience more accessible for adults with young children, a family-friendly viewing space will be available. Adults will need to stay with their children at all times.

Apto para familias: Para que esta experiencia sea más accesible para los adultos con niños pequeños, habrá un espacio apto para familias. Los adultos deberán permanecer con sus hijos(as) en todo momento.

Please register using the form below. All registered participants will receive a follow-up email with confirmation and additional event details.

Inscríbase utilizando el formulario que aparece a continuación. Todos los participantes inscritos recibirán un correo electrónico de confirmación con los detalles adicionales del evento.

The screening and discussion are free and open to the public but registration is required.

La exhibición y la discusión son gratuitos y abiertos al público, pero es necesario inscribirse.

About the Film

From an award-winning filmmaking team, Make a Circle follows a group of child care providers who are determined to change how society values the education of its youngest citizens. With a mix of humor, outrage, and passion, Make a Circle captures the unfolding stories of Patricia, a leader of a new union for child care providers, as she fights on behalf of a largely immigrant workforce; Charlotte, another union member who tirelessly lifts up the low-income families in her care; and Anne, the director of a large preschool, who finds novel ways to value and support her teachers when jobs at Starbucks are offering higher pay. Within their stories are interludes that offer a cinematic glimpse into the unique, imaginative world of the young children in their care. The film culminates as thousands of child care union members march on their state capitol demanding better working conditions, just as their contract is set to expire. Weaving together the magic they create in the classroom, the struggles they endure at home, and their unwavering activism for their profession, Make a Circle is a moving portrait of life as an early childhood educator and a promising blueprint for fixing our broken child care system.

Speaking Grief Documentary & Resources On-Demand

Moving away from the idea that grief is a problem that needs to be “fixed,” Speaking Grief validates the experience of grievers and guides those wishing to support them. See the on-demand film and extensive resources for exploring the topic of grief.

Speaking Grief explores why the pain of losing a loved one can be so difficult to understand and discuss. The film interviews grieving families from across the U.S., whose losses range from stillbirth to suicide, to address common misconceptions about grief. Through candid personal stories and conversations with experts in the grief field, the film also presents ideas for how family and friends can better support each other through loss.

There is no “right” way to grieve. By sharing diverse representations of bereavement, Speaking Grief illustrates that grief is a universal, yet individual experience.

Watch the documentary on-demand: https://www.speakinggrief.org/documentary

Funding for Speaking Grief is provided by a grant from WPSU Penn State and The New York Life Foundation

Related Resources:

Speaking Grief Documentary:
- Available to view online: https://www.speakinggrief.org/documentary
- Speaking Grief also has a great “Resources” section: https://www.speakinggrief.org/get-better-at-grief
Sesame Street in Communities Tough Topics resources (for young children and families) Discussing Tough Topics including grief, trauma, health, offering comfort and more.
Sesame Street for Military Families: https://sesamestreetformilitaryfamilies.org/
Institute for Nonviolence offers Grief Cafes: https://gandhiinstitute.org/workshops-trainings

Intelligent Lives: Opening Doors Playlist On-Demand

4 Short Postsecondary Transition Film Playlist Above

These four postsecondary transition films show effective transition practices enabling students with disabilities to gain job skills. Each film also has a discussion guide to aid in classroom discourse. Films include: Dream Outloud; Garrett shows: I’m in Charge; Jamia and Peyton: I Can Work; Untapped

Intelligent Lives: Opening Doors Films & Discussion Guides

College Behind Bars On-Demand

A four-part documentary film series that tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees.

Alfred I. duPont-Columbia and Peabody-Award winning filmmaker Lynn Novick has directed and produced a new documentary series, College Behind Bars, that reveals the transformative power of higher education through the experiences of incarcerated men and women.

This 4-part series is available in its entirety as well as in short issue videos with lessons and discussions for social studies and civics classes via PBS Learningmedia.

Watch Full Program & Find Education Resources

Raising the Future, The Child Care Crisis On-Demand

PBS NewsHour presents an indepth look at how the lack of affordable, quality child care is affecting American families. The COVID-19 pandemic transformed life for millions of parents and pushed the nation’s childcare system to the brink of collapse. A heated debate has emerged over what can be done to better meet the needs of parents and children. In this hourlong documentary, PBS NewsHour explores the burden costly childcare places on families, travels to cities and states experimenting with new ways of providing childcare, and delves into the political battle brewing over the idea of federally funded, universal childcare.

Local Childcare Challenges:

Listen to childcare challenges in our region from these two WXXI News Connections shows

Student Mental Health

The New York State Public Media Student Mental Health Matters is a New York State Education Department funded initiative that has called on NYS public media organizations to help address the issues of mental health by supporting educators in the classroom. On this site access on-demand programming, educational resources, news and talkshow podcasts, educational and community resources.