Let the Little Light Shine

A high-achieving elementary school just south of downtown Chicago is a lifeline for Black children – until gentrification threatens its closure.

National Teachers Academy (NTA) is a top ranked, high-achieving elementary school just south of downtown Chicago, with a thriving population of mostly low-income and Black students. But as the neighborhood grows and gentrifies, community members eager for a high school seek to close NTA and replace it with a high school campus. As the Chicago Public Schools administrators, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and the city’s politicians debate the future of the school, the film brings you inside NTA to meet the students, parents, and educators fighting to save their beloved institution.