Available to Stream

Text reading "Preschool to Prison" in orange and black lettering.

“1 in 3 Black babies born will be incarcerated throughout their lifetime.”

Center for American Progress, 2018

Countless children are educationally lynched in the United States with labels such as emotionally disturbed and intellectually disabled, resulting in children under the age of 8 being shuffled from school to prison for minor infractions; Meanwhile, investors are cashing in on this new form of slavery with Black & brown children being disproportionately impacted the most.

Preschool to Prison is a compelling examination of how the United States public school system is built and operated like prisons. Zero-tolerance policies are used to justify suspension and arrests that set up a pathway to send children of color and children with special needs to go from school to prison. Children are being suspended, restrained, dragged, physically manhandled, and subsequently arrested for minor offenses such as throwing candy on a school bus. These personal accounts from people affected by the school-to-prison pipeline give riveting tales about the generational impact on society.

Director

Karen ‘Dr.K’ Baptiste

Producers

Edwin Walker
Karen ‘Dr.K’ Baptiste

Cast

Karen ‘Dr.K’ Baptiste, Tiffany “TJ” Vulcain,
Pia Johnson, Joseph Nohavicka,
Taso Pardalis, Thorin Daye,
and Baruti Kafele

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Our Work in the Field

Making of the Film

Watch the Trailer

“An estimated 17,000 preschool students are suspended or expelled,
and Black boys make up 8,000 of those suspensions and expulsions.”

University of Virginia, 2021

The Filmmakers

A smiling woman outdoors with green foliage in the background, wearing a yellow shirt, green earrings, and a colorful necklace.

Karen “Dr. K” Baptiste

Dr.K is an award-winning film director and producer of her first documentary short, Preschool to Prison. She’s a shrewd visionary who can make magic and transform any space she’s in. Unabashed and resolute in her stance against injustice of any kind, she is a staunch advocate for equitable resources in the Black and brown community, and special needs community. Dr.K leads with compassionate courage and has bridged her love of supporting individuals impacted by the criminal justice system and education reform through storytelling in film and media. Growing up in the Bronx and teaching in the Bronx, seeing kids drop out of school was the norm. Seeing her peers end up in prison was also a norm. Dr.K vowed to rewrite the narrative for kids in the Bronx and all other communities where resources are often deficient and drop out rates are high. In 2023, Dr. K was tapped to be a recurring education commentator on News Nation. In addition to creating this documentary, she was featured in Allure Magazine to discuss the importance of women’s beauty and self-image; she has also acted in the film Burden, Puppy Love, and the web series, Shiny New Things.

Close-up portrait of an African American man with dreadlocks and a beard, wearing a denim jacket and a light-colored T-shirt, looking directly at the camera.

Edwin Walker

Edwin Walker is a talented visionary with a core value to humanize the narrative and imagery of Black people with powerful stories. His mission is to occupy spaces where he can amplify Black creative voices in a bold and unapologetic way. As a filmmaker, his credits include but are not limited to: writing, producing, directing narrative short films, short documentaries, along with series and specials. One of Edwin’s proudest projects that he produced was “Love Escapes Us” which went on to become the winner of the 2015 Essence Magazine Short Film Contest. Other notable projects include the 2011 Coca Cola Refreshing Filmmaker’s Award. With a reverence to Black storytelling, Edwin has navigated many spaces and partnerships where he created his own path while simultaneously producing shows for Netflix, CNN, Peacock, BET and Comedy Central. Edwin continues to be a beacon for up and coming artists. In 2012, he founded his production company, Edclusive Entertainment. Under his production company, he produced his first Indie Thriller, “Caged Birds”, starring Khalil Cain, Bentley Green, and Kamal McFadden. You can find it streaming on Amazon.

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Richard E. Pelzer II

Richard is the President & CEO of MEGA Personalities, a Business Development Management Firm founded by him in 1994 based in New York City. He is the Founder of Harlem2020 and the Emerging Marketing Director of Lemon Brands. A graduate from Kent State University in Ohio, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and Business management, Pelzer's strong leadership skills and creative vision assists clients with national and international business opportunities, develops and manages them for clients in the fashion, beauty and/or entertainment industries. Clients included The NYSE Diversity Council, Sephora, Essence Magazine, Walker International Communications Group, SlayTV, and the March On Washington Film Festival. He prides himself on the ability to cultivate creative partnerships and long-lasting relationships to stay within budget in our current economic climate. His latest venture is Executive Producer of the film 90 DAYS & BURDEN written by Nathan Hale Williams.

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Andrew Crabtree

Andrew is an editor based in Los Angeles, California. Originally from Ohio, Andrew has edited several documentaries and promotional work for Disney, Warner Bros, Netflix, Apple TV+, Tastemade Studios, and more. He has also collaborated with brands such as Red Bull, Coca-Cola, GQ Magazine, Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphire, and others. His work starts from a humanist approach with a focus on authenticity in an effort to bring honest, human stories to light in a way that helps connect audiences to themselves, to each other, and to the world around them.

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Ty Stone

Ty is from Harlem in New York City and has been in the entertainment industry for over a decade. Having developed a passion and infinity for storytelling, Ty spent time learning the stories people wanted to share with the world and used the camera to paint their life with light. Ty proudly worked on several documentary projects that include Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Documentary; Time: Khalif Browder; and Hulu Fyre Fraud. Ty continues to be inspired by stories surrounding social justice.