Welcome to Commie High

Directed by Donald Harrison

An experiment in public education where "no" isn't the standard answer.

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Genre: Culture, History, Cultural History, and Social Issues
Synopsis: "Welcome to Commie High" explores an experiment in public education. Founded in the early 1970s as part of the "free schools" movement, Community High fought to survive until the 1990s when demand for this alternative public school skyrocketed and students camped in parking lots hoping to enroll. Today Community High stands as one of the only survivors of a humanistic movement in schools and shows us what's possible within public education when "no" isn't the standard answer.
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Filmed over a tumultuous 2016 – 2017 school year—and weaving together 45 years of archival materials and alumni interviews—we see how the "Commie High" model survived and evolved to reflect the world around it.
Stage: finished
Running time: 94 minutes