Press Releases

PRESS CONTACT:
Meghan Devitt
Dittoe Public Relations
(317) 202-2280 x11
meg@dittoepr.com

Revealing New Film Unveils School Exceeding Odds –
Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution

Film offers real solutions to U.S. education crisis; focuses on open-enrollment charter school

(TUCSON, Ariz. – September 29, 2009) – Having revealed the crisis in American education in his 2007 internationally acclaimed film Two Million Minutes – A Global Examination, Executive Producer Robert Compton now unveils an open-enrollment school in the U.S. that teaches ordinary students at an extraordinarily high, globally competitive level. This school and its methods to succeed are the focus of his newly released documentary titled Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution.

Featuring BASIS Charter School, with locations in Tucson and Phoenix, AZ, the film demonstrates that American students are capable of competing academically with the best in the world given the right curriculum, the right teachers and the right inspiration and expectations for success.

“It is absolutely critical, for the future of the American economy, that we educate our students at a globally competitive level,” said Bob Compton. “While so many U.S. schools are failing their students – as can be seen by drop-out rates, the need for remedial courses prior to college and the fact that U.S. graduate schools of science and engineering are largely filled with foreign students – BASIS is exceeding expectations.”

In the film, Compton features the charter school model upheld by BASIS. Compton believes that a successful model will uphold three basic principles:

• The curriculum must be equal to global standards. Quick tests of this are: whether students are required to take AP Calculus BC during their junior year, how many AP exams a student must pass (should be at least eight), and how many AP science exams a student must pass (should be at least two).
• Teachers must equal the global standard. They must hold, at minimum, master’s degrees in the subjects they teach.
• Operating costs must be within reason. BASIS proves that a successful charter school can be opened for less than $150,000 and run on $6,500 per student in the 5th – 12th grades.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Reverend Al Sharpton joined Compton in premiering this film in D.C. on September 17, 2009.

In Gingrich’s address, he mentioned three critical points for education reform in America: “We’re going to try to convince people that this really, really matters…that there are solutions that will really work…and that it is their duty – as citizens, as parents, as members of a community – to get this to really work.”

Reverend Al Sharpton also spoke to the crowd at the event about issues in the current education system: “When we say ‘let’s hold people accountable,’ they act like you have insulted them. There’s something strange about people who want the right not to perform and not to be held accountable for a deteriorating situation… We cannot keep protecting everyone in the education world but the students, and we cannot keep making excuses for why they can’t learn.”

Ellen Winn, Director of the Education Equality Project (www.edequality.org) concluded the evening speaking to the crowd about the Project, which is building a civil rights movement to eliminate the racial and ethnic achievement gap in public education by working to create an effective school for every child.

The next screening of Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution will occur in Tucson, AZ on October 1st. For more information on this event, visit http://www.basistucson.org/2million.html.

For more information on future screenings or to purchase copies of his documentary films, visit www.2mminutes.com.

###

About Bob Compton

Bob Compton is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who has invested in numerous companies over the past twenty years. He started his career with IBM, and after attending Harvard Business School began the venture capitalist portion of his career. He now serves on numerous company boards and has just recently released his first documentary film. Titled Two Million Minutes, the film takes an in-depth look at secondary education in the United States as compared with India and China and examines the implications this may have on the U.S. position in the global economy during the 21st century. Two Million Minutes is currently screening across the country. For more information, please visit www.2mminutes.com.