Make a Circle — Colorado Springs | Everyday Democracy Series

About the Film

Make a Circle is a love letter to early educators and a rallying cry for a childcare system in crisis. From an award-winning filmmaking team, Make a Circle follows a group of childcare providers who are determined to change how society values the education of its youngest citizens. Weaving together the magic they create in the classroom, the struggles they endure at home, and their tireless activism for their profession, Make a Circle is a moving portrait of life as an early childhood educator and a promising blueprint for fixing our broken childcare system. 

> Watch the trailer here.   

With glimpses into the magical worlds they create for children, the film builds toward a powerful collective action at their state capitol, where educators demand dignity, recognition, and fair pay. The story asks us to consider whose labor is valued, whose is overlooked, and what it truly means to care for one another.  

After the Screening

Following the film, participants will gather for conversation and reflection on childhood, community care, and the interconnected futures of kids and caregivers. Together, we’ll explore how decisions made today shape generations to come. What does it look like to invest in care as a public good?  

Light meal and beverages provided.

Families are welcome at all of our gatherings. Each venue has space nearby where children can step out with a caregiver if they need a break. Because the events include a full film screening and small group conversations, we encourage parents to bring quiet activities for children so the space can remain focused and comfortable for everyone. 

This event is produced in partnership with Food to Power.

Filmmakers: Jen Bradwell, Todd Boekelheide, Rebekah Fergusson, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon 

About the Series

This event is part of Everyday Democracy: Stories That Build Us, a community film and conversation series from Rocky Mountain Public Media’s Above the Noise initiative.

The series creates space for something essential: people talking to people about the real stuff of life—everyday experiences like care, work, belonging, childhood, and access to information that shape how we see the world and how we participate in it.

Across three months, Everyday Democracy presents four beautifully crafted films (that friends can find on the RMPBS+ app), each followed by small-group conversations that help build connection across differences and deepen our understanding of one another’s stories.

Above the Noise is Rocky Mountain Public Media’s statewide civic-dialogue series that brings Coloradans together—in person and online—to listen, reflect, and connect. This initiative is part of RMPM’s broader Statewide Civic Engagement effort to strengthen trust, empathy, and participation across all 64 counties of Colorado.