Images clockwise from top left: Youth at the Louisville Zoo; Dru and Gracie from Rock Point, Navajo Nation at the Louisville Slugger Museum; Youth at the Speed Art Museum; Mr. Michael Martinez of Santa Fe Indian School at the Churchill Downs; A welcome to Fern Creek High School by Mr. Brent Peters (MA '16), and Cross-site discussion facilitated by Jeffersontown High School youth.

As we previewed last month, Louisville, one of the founding sites of BLTN NextGen, invited guests from across the network to learn about their city and schools and to share insights into making schools and communities more just and equitable. Youth from three Louisville high schools (Atherton, Fern Creek, and Jeffersontown) welcomed peers from Aiken, SC; La Casa Roja (Rock Point, Navajo Nation); and Santa Fe Indian School for the three-day event November 7-9. To get to know the city and some of its roots, participants visited the Muhammad Ali Center, the Louisville Zoo, the Speed Art Museum, the Churchill Downs Museum, and the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. We were welcomed to Fern Creek High School by Brent Peters (MA '16) who recounted the "Navajo-Kentuckians" collaborations, and who encouraged everyone present to pursue their questions with passion. Heather Jones, Site Mentor for NextGen - Louisville, offers a reflection that says plenty about the culture of the BLTN Next Generation Leadership Network: "After having the good fortune of visiting other NextGen sites and learning of their cultures, it was an honor to host a gathering in Louisville to share with those who have been so welcoming to us. It is always amazing to watch students from different regions and backgrounds find that they have so much in common! Their commitment to create positive change bridges states, cultures, and generations."

Moments of cross-site sharing

The BLTN Book Club is a collaboration conceived and facilitated by Brian Hotchkiss, and Genithia Hogges (MA '24). They are joined this year by Venecia Proctor (MA '24). Hogges provided this report. 

With twenty attendees, the BLTN Book Club had a strong start to its second year. Brian took the lead with recruitment and tallying the book preferences from those who signed up in the summer. Genithia drafted our scope and sequence for the year and documents our discussions at each meeting. Venecia spearheads our community building by sending out opening questions that encourage each participant to speak at the beginning of each meeting. Participants were asked for feedback on the structure of our sessions, and their input has helped to shape future meetings and deepen our discussions.

In September, we discussed brown girl dreaming, a memoir in verse by Jacqueline Woodson that traces her experiences growing up in the 1960s and learning to express her voice as a writer. Our October discussion explored The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom, a pedagogical text by Felicia Rose Chavez. From this text, we drew concrete applications for our own teaching practice and also drew connections to Woodson's memoir from the previous month, envisioning Woodson as a student in our classes and considering how decoloniality in our writing instruction would impact such a student's experience. In November, we will discuss James, a novel by Percival Everett that retells Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the voice and perspective of the character, Jim. We will also begin sharing how we plan to translate the lessons from our book discussions into action. (If you're interested in joining the BLTN Book Club, email to bltn@middlebury.edu.) 

Last call to let us know if you plan to present at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference in Boston, November 21-24. Consider attending presentations by Alfredo Luján (MA '87, MLitt '18) and Dr. Ashlynn Wittchow (MA '18). 

Also last call to let us know if you'd like to attend an informal gathering at NCTE Boston (near the Convention Center) on Friday, November 22, from 5:30-8:00 pm. Please RSVP today.

Be sure to stop by the Bread Loaf booth in the vendor area, and say hello. 

Youth filmmakers from What’s the Story? The Young Filmmakers' Social Action Team present at Bread Loaf's Vermont campus, July, 2024.

"In its early years, What’s the Story? focused on connecting youth and adults throughout Vermont, harnessing the power of documentary filmmaking to deepen understanding and create real-world impact. Over the last few years, this innovative program has expanded beyond Vermont. This year, WTS brings together young filmmakers from seven sites across the country. Each site pairs dedicated adult mentors with youth filmmakers, creating a community that believes in and empowers young people to use filmmaking as a tool for change. This year, those sites include Aiken, SC; Gastonia, NC; Lewiston, ME; Louisville, KY; Richmond, VT; Santa Fe, NM; and Sharon, Vermont!"

-An excerpt from What's the Story?'s latest newsletter written by Director Tim O'Leary (MA '07). Read this issue and sign up for future issues, which will feature each participating site. 

Ready for another enriching weekend at Bread Loaf? This year, the Winter Institute will be February 21-23, 2025 and you can earn 13 professional development hours though workshops and creative exercises. This year’s theme is Reading Across Difference, and we have a brand-new slate of engaging workshops on offer.

You will learn how interactive performance-based teaching can work in your classroom and hear from youth about the impact of community-based learning. When the session concludes, you can choose to cross-country or downhill ski at Middlebury’s Rikert Nordic Center or Discover more on our Winter Institute website or reach out to us at blse@middlebury.edu with your questions.

NextGen youth and their Site Mentor, Mr. Michael Martinez, invite you to attend the December 2 installment of this year's student-led writing workshop series, "Family and Faith: The Core of Native Identity." This session is titled, “Building a Nation: Lessons from Native American Tribes in the U.S. Constitutional Framework”. Participants will learn about aspects of students' cultures in the pueblos of Northern New Mexico, and write and share in a supportive community.

The event takes place from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Mountain Tiime (6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Eastern). Zoom link.

Click on the image at right for a larger version of the flyer. 

If you haven’t yet done so, it’s time to re-enroll in BLSE!  Summer 2025 re-enrollment forms are now available on your portal, and dates and fees are posted on the website. The full list of 2025 courses and faculty will be available in mid-December. We look forward to seeing you for Summer 2025!

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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