Fifteen days that turned into 500 — and changed education forever

On February 1, 2026, at 2:00 PM, Broad + Liberty will host a screening of the new, landmark documentary, 15 DAYS: The Real Story of America’s Pandemic School Closures.  Nearly six years after the Covid-19 pandemic, 15 DAYS brings a forensic analysis and inside look at why our nation’s schools were closed for upwards of 500 days and how the closures impacted America’s school children. 15 DAYS examines the most powerful forces reshaping American education, our children’s minds and the future of this country.

When schools closed, teachers union leadership saw an opportunity to fully take control over public schools, get hundreds of billions of dollars from the federal government, and transform schools with “equity” and social justice. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers and Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association used our children as collateral to achieve their goals.

The film, produced over three and a half years by Natalya Murakhver and Restore Childhood, features now-director of the National Institutes of Health, Stanford’s Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Trump’s former Covid advisor Dr. Scott Atlas, USC Education professor Dr. Morgan Polikoff, and families from New York to Pennsylvania to California. Paul and Vanessa Martino, Bucks County natives and open schools advocates are also featured in the film.

Understanding the past is the key to recognizing what is happening in our schools right now. There has been no reckoning, no accountability for this entirely avoidable tragedy, one that many consider to be a crime against American families. The film returns the viewers to the helpless feeling many parents shared, while the well-heeled plotted behind the scenes to control our children in order to enact their own agenda. 

More money was funneled to public schools during the extended school closures than any other time in our history. And what do we have to show for it? Students who can’t read, write or perform basic math at grade level.

While the mainstream media finally caught up and started acknowledging the academic decline for the majority of students, it still has not reported on the insidious nature of the teachers unions.

15 DAYS exposes what occurred and why through heart-breaking stories of children who were hurt by these actions. That is why it is imperative for everyone to understand what happened then and what is happening now. When special interests captured public policy and labeled concerned parents “domestic terrorists,” they revealed something fundamental about the limits of state authority over family autonomy. If we don’t learn to identify the systems that enabled this, we won’t recognize similar patterns of institutional capture in the future.

The teachers unions continue to reshape our schools and progress in their mission to turn our children into social justice warriors. They are openly more focused on progressive activism and social justice and are wholly unconcerned about academic outcomes for students.

The key to fighting back is to examine and understand what happened, recognize the ongoing agenda of the teachers unions and its negative impact in public schools, and ultimately change the trajectory of education in America.

The premiere will be held at the Newtown Athletic Club in Bucks County on Sunday, February 1, 2026, starting at 2pm, and will be followed by a panel discussion and networking reception.

Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased here. Additional donations will support the nonprofit organizations Broad + Liberty and Restore Childhood and are greatly appreciated to support this work.

Event Schedule

2:00 PM – Film Screening

3:15 PM – Panel Discussion
Hosted by Dawn Stensland, Emmy Award-winning journalist, news anchor, and host of The Dawn Stensland Show.
Featuring:
• Natalya Murakhver
• Paul Martino
• Vanessa Martino
• Beth Ann Rosica

Following the panel – Networking Reception
Enjoy light snacks and a cash bar while connecting with fellow attendees.

For more information about the film visit 15 Days.

For questions about the event, contact barosica@broadandliberty.com.