Public School Kids

Public School Kids is about what we

share as Americans, and why it matters.

Public School Kids is 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.

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?

Series

Season I: 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.