because they re just dying for something better. reporter: that something better is a charter school. a public school funded by tax dollars but run independently. and with more freedom than traditional schools. they re governed by performance contracts that require proven academic success. they often have longer school days, a year round schedule and in harlem, no shortage of critics who don t like seeing their neighborhood school replaced by one they have to compete to get into. even if the charter school posts impressive results. the school in the film, about 95% of the kids are grade level. in harlem over all which is where the school is located it s 56%. for the school in the film, it s one of the highest-performing schools in new york and the most protested. reporter: finally, off the waiting list, gregory attends a charter school. his mom says it s working. you can see the difference in him. i see it in him too, now. reporter: as for the roachfords, they re still waitin
is raising her son gregory alone. her husband is in prison. unhappy with her zone school, she entered a dozen lotteries. what it meant to me to get a decent school, i just want to give my son a fair education. i kept saying if i put him in a local school up the block, even though i know it s okay, i m like, am i throwing him into a failing situation. reporter: filmmaker madeleine sackler wanted to highlight the inequity of school choice. we had it described like a horror movie. the parents wake up and know they re walking into a nightmare. their chances at that particular lottery was one in seven. there are over 3,000 applicants for 475 spots and yet they go because they re just dying for something better. reporter: that something better is a charter school. a public school funded by tax dollars but run independently. and with more freedom than traditional schools. they re governed by performance contracts that require proven academic success.