Tag Archives: Race to Nowhere

R-FH Area Schools’ ‘Beyond Measure’ Discussion


“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” It’s a major tenet Rumon-Fair Haven area parents and students learned as they gathered together recently to view and discuss the documentary Beyond Measure, the sequel to the acclaimed Race to Nowhere.

Parents and students in the Rumson, Fair Haven and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) districts participated.

Here’s what happened …

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Learning About Achievement ‘Beyond Measure’ at RFH

It’s all about America’s achievement culture. Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) officials are showing another documentary at the school in an attempt to give parents and students some insight.

The feature-length documentary film Beyond Measure — a follow-up to the Race to Nowhere: the Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture — will be presented in the high school’s auditorium on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The screening is hosted by the RFH, Rumson and Fair Haven school districts.

Admission is free, but seats must be reserved in advance by visiting the RFH website at www.rumsonfairhaven.org, and clicking the the Home Page link.

Six years after 2010’s award-winning Race to Nowhere rose to national prominence, Reel Link Films has released Beyond Measure, which is intended to shine a light on tenacious and cutting-edge alternatives to the stifling, high-pressure education system presented in Race to Nowhere.

Beyond Measure follows public schools across the country as they take matters into their own hands and innovate from the inside.

Subverting a high-stakes education culture, even when it means putting their jobs at risk, the film’s featured educators are the “advance guard” in a burgeoning national movement to reinvent schooling.

Via spotlighting success stories, Beyond Measure shows that it is possible to rise above America’s toxic achievement fixation and build a richer, deeper, more empowering, student-centered education culture from the ground-up.

“… Beyond Measure is a road map for communities looking to put true learning at the forefront of their school experience,” said Timothy Quinn, former president of the Princeton Board of Education. “It demonstrates what students, educators, and parents can achieve when they look beyond merely improving an updated model of instruction to creating a dynamic learning environment where every student can thrive.”

Notable figures featured in the film include Sir Ken Robinson (international education expert and presenter of the most-watched TED talk of all time), Linda Darling-Hammond (education advisor for President Obama’s 2008 campaign), and bestselling author Daniel Pink (Drive and A Whole New Mind).

The upcoming screening at RFH is part of a nationwide campaign to bring the film to schools, theaters, and festivals across the country.

As part of Reel Link Films’ commitment to grassroots change, Beyond Measure is partnering with educational institutions and community organizations to host intimate special-event screenings that double as forums for constructive community dialogue.

Director Vicki Abeles’ new book, also entitled Beyond Measure, will be available for purchase at the RFH screening courtesy of River Road Books.

Abeles’ book examines cultural and educational symptoms of the academic rat race and suggests steps — big and small — that readers can take to reclaim their schools and their children’s lives.

It has been described as “America’s wake-up call” by Maria Shriver and praised by New York Times bestselling author Brigid Schulte as “one of the most important books of the early 21st century.”

— Edited press release from the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional School District