Middle-class mom Shana is thrilled that her daughter tested into the most prestigious public school in the city. Unfortunately, her daughter isn’t; the school doesn’t believe in learning through play, even in kindergarten. Shana has joined the PTA to advocate for more recess and gym class, which the state mandates should be once a day, not once a week. But she discovers that “mandates” mean little in public education, where schools are run by bureaucratically tyrannical principals and shrinking budgets force reliance on the donations and hard work of parent volunteers. As discussions about money allocation and past disagreements get more heated, Shana and her fellow volunteers must admit to themselves that their kids are “gifted”mainly in socioeconomic status. But they have been reluctant to rock the boat while their own children benefit, thereby betraying their liberal ideals of protest and equality and keeping afloat—often single-handed—a deeply flawed system. One set.