Educators in Montana say the recently released movie “Waiting for Superman” unfairly portrays teachers, blames unions and is not applicable here.

“This movie is not about Montana,” said Dennis Parman, deputy superintendent with the Office of Public Instruction.

Nearly 100 people attended a pre-screening of the recently released film Thursday afternoon at Cinemark followed by panel discussion. The movie, directed by Academy Award-winner Davis Guggenheim, has sparked a national conversation about the state of public education. Some call it a “love letter to charter schools.” Others say “it’s an attack on teacher’s unions” because they make it impossible to get rid of poor-performing educators.

The movie focuses on the experiences of five young people from different cities in America and the challenges they face with public schools. All five of them apply to charter schools, but not all are accepted through the lottery process.

Educator Geoffrey Canada started the Harlem Children’s Zone in 1990 and was featured in the movie. He says, “The problem is schools haven’t changed, but the world around them has.”

It was clear that panel members were not impressed with the film and some were even offended.