October 11, 2025
The educator saw early on how a system built to educate could also punish
Before she was an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, Dr. Karen Baptiste was a classroom teacher in the Bronx, standing in front of children who reminded her of herself—Black, curious, and too often underestimated. She saw early on how a system built to educate could also punish, labeling kids before they ever had a chance to show who they could be.
“Children don’t wake up with the intent to fail, with the intent to be bad, with the intent to disrupt,” she tells BLACK ENTERPRISE.
“At three and four years old, they already know when they’re loved and when they’re not. When you hear young kids say that they’ve been told that they’re bad and they can’t even spell the word bad, that stays with you because nobody wants to be labeled as bad.”
In addition to her own experiences, Baptiste, who often goes by her nickname Dr. K, was also galvanized by national headlines to produce and direct Preschool to Prison: A National Crisis, her award-winning documentary now nominated for a New York Emmy® Creative Arts Award. The film exposes how bias, misdiagnosis, and “zero tolerance” policies create a direct line from early education to incarceration, especially for Black children and those with special needs.
While many people might be familiar with the term school-to-prison pipeline, Baptiste admits she changed the phrasing to preschool-to-prison because as alarming as it might sound, it more accurately describes many of the cases in the film, and she believes the public needs to be more alarmed.
“I’ve had people ask me if I didn’t think this title was extreme,” she says. “And I just respond back, the patterns of sending children from school to prison is what’s extreme.”
For her, calling it Preschool to Prison forces people to confront an uncomfortable truth.
“When you say school to prison, you think of an older child—a high schooler, someone taller than you,” she explains. “Empathy decreases as children get older. But when you say preschool to prison, you picture this itty bitty, cute child. People pause. They say, ‘That can’t be happening.’ Unfortunately, it is.”
When Baptiste learned her film had been nominated for an Emmy, she didn’t believe it at first.
“I saw it in writing and didn’t believe it,” she recalls. “I went looking for the video because I thought it might be a typo. I was with my mom when I found out, and that was everything—because she’s seen all the struggles from this.”
Filming wasn’t easy. Baptiste says everything that could go wrong did—sound loss, footage problems, financial hurdles—but she saw it as confirmation that her work mattered.
“I knew it was going to be big because the devil was working overtime,” she laughed. “Once it was out, I had to trust God’s plan.”
Through the film, Baptiste makes a clear case: discipline in schools isn’t just about behavior—it’s about perception.
“There are several studies done that show that—they looked at the three B’s: being a boy, being big for your age, and being Black,” she said. “Those factors contribute to the pipeline because punishments become harsher. People move straight to punishment instead of a teachable moment.”
She believes the solution starts with changing how educators and policymakers view children in crisis.
“Teacher prep programs should teach educators how to identify a child in crisis, not just a child being defiant,” Dr. K says. “Not every bit of defiance comes from harm or intent. Sometimes it’s pain.”
Beyond filmmaking, Baptiste leads Pioneering Possibilities, a consultancy that helps school districts and corporations build cultures rooted in empathy and equity. Her framework for “liberatory leadership” centers on CARE: curiosity, accountability, regulation, and equity.
“Curiosity cures assumptions,” she said. “Accountability doesn’t mean punishment. Regulation means ensuring adults are emotionally healthy, because we have a lot of dysregulated adults standing in front of people’s children. And equity means making intentional decisions that bring healing and belonging to the community.”
For Baptiste, systemic change begins with humanity.
“If I can connect with you heart to heart, I’ll treat you differently,” she says. “I hear a lot of, we don’t have the budget for this. Love is free. Dignity, respect, collaboration—they’re free. Start with the things that are free.”
And just as she calls for healing within institutions, Baptiste also insists on healing within the people who lead them.
“We have a lot of dysregulated adults,” she adds. “Because a person has multiple degrees, we think they’re fit to stand in front of children—and they’re not. If leadership fixes the culture, the pipeline to exclusion dries up.”
That mindset is summed up in a phrase Dr. K often repeats:
“I always say happy adults equal happy children. If we create this space where the adults are healthy and whole and feel loved and respected, then that’s in turn going to affect the children.”
Baptiste’s message extends beyond classrooms.
“Everyone has a role in dismantling the pipeline,” she said. “School and district leaders can review who policies are affecting. Parents can attend school board meetings and ask how discipline is handled. Even people without children should care, because if kids are being harshly disciplined and traumatized, that affects everyone.”
As Preschool to Prison continues to screen across the country, Baptiste has seen audiences moved to action.
“This film is like a love letter to children,” she said. “It’s not to make teachers the enemy. It’s a blueprint for change.”
As she prepares for the New York Emmy® Creative Arts Awards this weekend, Baptiste reflects on the road that brought her from journalism student to educator to advocate and filmmaker.
“Regardless of whether we win, this nomination affirms that I’m doing God’s work,” she said. “I’m speaking up against the harm I’ve witnessed—and helping others see that healing is possible.”
Watch: Preschool to Prison: A National Crisis is streaming on Amazon Prime, FOX SOUL TV, Kweli TV, and on its dedicated website.
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