Probably some of you don’t know that I am an educational consultant and advocate of educational reform, with the concept of learning how to learn and study with application in mind.  Vicki Abeles filmmaking debut is phenomenal and I hope it wakes up American and our educational system.

Our high-pressure, high-stakes culture has invaded our schools and children’s lives, creating unhealthy, disengaged, unprepared and stressed-out youth. Educators, parents, and students are embracing Race to Nowhere, a new documentary from Reel Link Films that exposes the insidious silent epidemic in our education system. The film tells the stories of young people pushed to the brink, burned-out educators, and deeply frustrated parents.

Vicki Abeles, first-time filmmaker and the film’s producer and director, was inspired to make Race to Nowhere out of concern for her children. A mother of three and former Wall Street attorney, Abeles awakened to this crisis in a hospital emergency room as her 12-year old daughter was being treated for stress-related illness. She saw firsthand how the pressures were overwhelming not only to her own kids, but to students everywhere – in every kind of school environment and community.

Race to Nowhere will open for one week in theaters on Friday, September 10 at the IFC Center in New York and the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 Theater in Los Angeles.