A series about
What we share and
Why it matters
Public School Kids is about what we share as Americans.
We are dedicated to telling stories that remind us what we share. Our first season explores that mission through one of the few experiences more than 90% of Americans have in common: being a public school kid. Future seasons expand that conversation, exploring the people, places, stories, and institutions that shape who we are and connect us to one another.
We share our stories on our podcast, in our profile series – and on our Instagram.
Through documentary storytelling, Public School Kids explores freedom, opportunity, community, public lands, public spaces, history, education, and the promise that every kid deserves the chance to reach their full potential.
At its heart, Public School Kids asks a simple question: Who do we want to be?
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Season One
Why Do We Have Public Schools?
The first season of Public School Kids explores the history, purpose, and promise of public education in America. Beginning with the founding of the republic, it asks why generations of Americans believed educating children together was essential to both individual opportunity and the success of our democracy.
Through conversations with historians, educators, civic leaders, and fellow public school kids, the series explores the ideals that shaped our public schools, and the ways we’ve both lived up to and fallen short of them. Along the way, we examine citizenship, freedom, community, contradiction, and the ongoing work of becoming a more perfect union.
More than a series about schools, Why Do We Have Public Schools? is an exploration of America itself. It asks what our public schools can teach us about who we’ve been, who we are, and who we hope to become.
What does it mean to be a public school kid?
About
Public School Kids is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the truth that what we build, own and share as Amercians – public schools, public lands, and government conducted in public – make us stronger as individuals and communities and give us better, freer, and more dignified lives.
Mark Yourself Present
Drop us a line. Tag us @public.school.kids.
Or spread the word that what we experienced in public schools and on public lands made us the people and nation we are today. And that’s worth defending.
There is no wrong way to get involved.