Lakeland to Host "Race to Nowhere" on March 24

Parents, caregivers and community members are invited to a free screening of the documentary film “Race to Nowhere”  on Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m.

The event is sponsored by Alliance for Safe Kids and the Lakeland Central School District. There will be an opportunity for discussion after the screening. 

"Race to Nowhere" has been making its way into suburban communities nationally since it was released in September. The documentary examines the high-stress environment that exists in schools nationwide, causing some students to lead stressed and over-scheduled lives. Some students cheat, take stimulating drugs, have emotional break-downs, don't sleep, suffer from anorexia, and even commit suicide.

Filmmaker Vicki Abeles decided to make the film after seeing the stress her three children were experiencing. 

"All three of my kids started complaining about headaches from school or stomach aches, or they would wake up in the middle of the night worried about a test the next day," she says in the beginning of the film.

Abele, who lives in California, has dedicated the film to Devon Marvin, a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide in 2008 after experiencing increased pressure to do well in a math class.

at where two sisters, students at YHS, got emotional when they took to the podium to talk about about the pressures they face. Many others in attendance also joined the conversation following the screening. Organizers of the event, said they wanted to show the film not to teach a "lesson," but to start a discussion on the topic. 

The documentary features stories of young people in all types of communities who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids.  

This film is a call to action for families, educators and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the children to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens, organizers said.

For more information, visit www.racetonowhere.com.

Pre-register click here. For more information contact info@allianceforsafekids.org or (914) 736-1450.