This summer's 35 BLTN fellows, from 19 U.S. states, Washington D.C., and Scotland, collaborated to share perspective, experience, and ideas for innovation—ideas for keeping school relevant and for engaging in meaningful collaboration with students and community members. 

Over the course of the summer, fellows at Vermont, Oxford, and California met together and separately to plan collaborations their students will join--and in many cases help to design--this school year. Fellows prompted each other to discuss topics ranging from their own engaging teachers to building strong communities through relevance. They shared photos, art, memes, song lyrics, and videos illustrating and reflecting upon many facets of relevance and community. 

Connect with BLTN's "DMV Cohort" 
This year we have several active fellows in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) area who plan to meet occasionally and perhaps connect with other BLTN folk in the region. Contact Dr. Beverly Moss for details if you'd like to network with the DMV Cohort. 

BLTN congratulates ten veteran and dedicated fellows who each earned their Master of Arts in English this summer. We look forward to many years of collaboration to come.  

See the films showcased on the What's the Story? YouTube Channel.  

In July, 29 youth and 17 adults from nine of the ten BLTN NextGen sites, along with a Washington DC cohort,  gathered on the Bread Loaf Vermont campus in a testament to the power of youth voice. Through cooperative activities, presentations, panel discussions, outdoor events, and a film showcase by youth from What's the Story?: The Young Filmmakers' Social Action Team, young people worked in the spirit of Middlebury's Conflict Transformation initiative, learning and collaborating across difference. (See images from the gathering.)

Youth from Vermont; Chelsea, MA; Louisville, KY; Washington DC; Aiken, SC; and Santa Fe, NM presented films to an audience of approximately 100 Bread Loaf students, faculty, staff, and local community members. Filmmakers shared their perspectives as creators, researchers, and advocates for change.

What's the Story? is launching its tenth year of research and filmmaking. See below for time-sensitive information about participating in the program.

What's the Story? The Young Filmmakers' Social Action Team is a year-long program that provides middle and high school youth and educators with the tools, resources, and expertise they need to pursue their questions, collaborate with peers across the country, and create a documentary film to make a difference in their communities around a topic of their choosing. The program is free for participating sites. We ask for at least one adult and at least two youth. Funds are available for a modest site mentor stipend and to fund some media equipment. Find out more on the Apply Page of the site, and contact Program Director, Tim O’Leary, immediately if you plan to apply: whatsthestoryvt@gmail.com This year's program launches Saturday 9/21.

This round of the BLTN Change Action Grants, offering up to $5,000 for projects to be conducted during the 2024-25 school year, closes September 15. See the call for proposals and application instructions. Change Action Grants are made possible through Middlebury's Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation.

"How do you feel about student use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms and their use in classroom assignments? Can you share any specific recommendations for reading (titles please!) or your own instructional practice? AI is now part of our lives—in schools and out—what do you feel we can do to continue teaching honestly and creatively in the coming year? How do we go about 'reschooling' ourselves?" Allison Holsten (MA '04) invites us into conversation about AI. Allison's post is on BreadWeb, pinned for now at the top of the BLTN General group. (If you're not on BreadWeb, and you'd like to participate in the discussion, contact Tom McKenna.) 

The U.S. Department of Education invites high school student teams to submit innovative action plans that will advance the use of clean energy in their schools and communities.

See the Challenge Details for eligibility and rules. 

Submissions are due November 19. 

Please notify us of accomplishments you’d like to share in the monthly newsletter. We're also interested in promoting reader resource sharing. Do you have a unit you'd like to share or a topic you'd like to discuss? Be in touch. 

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