The Sharon Academy (TSA), a small but mighty independent school in rural Sharon, Vermont, is one of this year’s active What’s the Story?: The Young Filmmakers' Social Action Team sites. TSA also serves as the Vermont hub for both What’s the Story? and the BLTN NextGen Youth Leadership Network.

With over 85% publicly funded students, TSA’s mission is to nurture intelligent, independent, and creative thinkers. In this close-knit community, students are encouraged to recognize both their potential and the impact they can have in the world.

What’s the Commitment?
Students participating in What’s the Story? attend weekly Wednesday morning meetings before school and a once-a-month, three-hour Saturday session at TSA. For young people already balancing academics, extracurriculars, and social commitments, choosing to commit to a year-long digital storytelling process is no small decision.

So what keeps them coming back?

For Sharon filmmakers — many of whom also participate in Middlebury’s NextGen youth action network — it’s clear that the experience is about more than producing a film. It’s about connection, community, and expanding their sense of what’s possible.

Read Hailey Elles’ full reflection in the most recent What’s the Story? newsletter.

This month's resource is provided by Kurt Ostrow (MA '22), of Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia. Contact Kurt if you have a unit or teaching idea you'd like to share in a future issue.

I know not all lesson plans are created equal, but I think my frustration with having to teach Imagine Learning™'s uninspired curriculum to 7th graders started to poison me against all prewritten lessons. This week, though, I shook off that prejudice. I remembered the beauty of teacher-created lessons when I taught "How to Make Amends: A Lesson on Reparations." It was a mixer, a common format in the Zinn Education Project treasure trove: students took on the persona of someone who fought for—or is fighting for—reparations, then circulated around the room to share their stories. I found the lesson plan because my students are reading Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò's Reconsidering Reparations in lit circles. When my student teacher looked up the book, he stumbled on the Zinn Ed link, which curated a host of helpful resources, including this lesson. 

Grateful for the labor of radical educators, I'm reminding everyone to check out Zinn Ed and Rethinking Schools! You never know what perfect, already-written lesson you’ll find there.

Congratulations to BLTN Director Dr. Beverly Moss, who was recently honored by the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA) with their 2026 Literacies in Action Award for her contributions to community literacies, justice, and inclusive pedagogies. In her year-round work, Dr. Moss is a Professor and Director of Second Year Writing/Writing in the Themes in The Ohio State's Department of English.

Forty-two teachers and ten faculty gathered to learn from one another February 27-March 1 in this year's Winter Institute, under the theme of "Expanding the English Classroom." The Winter Institute is made possible by Middlebury's Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation. 

"The workshops were phenomenal, which goes without saying. But the time to talk to other educators from across the US, from various schools and backgrounds was really fantastic. Just to be able to swap ideas, tools, and stories with people with a variety of experiences was so beneficial!"

Left: NextGen alum, ABL Writing Leader, and Swarthmore sophomore Katherine Titus gives insights into running family literacy nights.

"I loved the sessions. It was also great to connect with teachers from boarding, private, and public schools from all over the country. While there are many things we are all struggling with (AI, cell phones, etc.), there are also things some of us have figured out how to do well and make work, and I'm so glad those people shared."

"As public school teachers, we give and we give and we give. The BLSE WI was a gift to myself that replenished me as a reader, writer, teacher, PERSON."

Above: Participants form a tableau to celebrate their shared learning.

"The courses were tremendous, the teaching (the creativity), the people, the facilities, the food! The whole experience was incredible!"

 "I came home feeling inspired and rejuvenated.  At night all I could think of was how, when I was a small child at Christmastime, I was filled with anticipation and joy.  I thought of kaleidoscopes, mosaics and magic.  it was delightful!"

BLTN NextGen's Youth Advisory Board would like to engage students in a writing and information session during the school day on Thursday, April 16, 2026. To accommodate time zones, they are offering two sessions (10-11am Eastern and 4-5 pm Eastern). Their goal is to introduce peers across BLTN to the work they do, including regular celebratory writing through prompts and sharing.

Contact Tom McKenna ASAP if you're interested in joining with a class, or if you have questions.

While we're rapidly building an amazing Summer 2026 cohort of BLTN fellows, there are still a few Teaching, Writing, and Acting for Change fellowships available. Read more about the fellowships here (and feel free to share the flyer with colleagues). Please alert Dana Olsen immediately if you are planning to apply. 

Note that special funding requires applying to Middlebury College's financial aid first. Financial aid and special funding applications are awarded in two rounds, mid-February and mid-April, then rolling, on a first-come, first-served basis. Please review aid and special funding application deadlines here.

As many of you know, BLTN lost a revered friend and colleague in Rex Lee Jim on February 24, 2026. (Diné College announcement). In addition to his scholarship at Bread Loaf, and his many accomplishments as a statesman, educator, poet, playwright, and healer, Rex initiated the BLTN Navajo-Kentuckian collaboration (with Brent Peters, MA '16), and he helped to found the Navajo site of BLTN NextGen (with Dr. Ceci Lewis, MA '99). 

Do you have a Rex story or a special memory or photo? We invite you to contribute to a special section of the upcoming BLTN Journal dedicated to Rex's memory. Please send vignettes, photos, and/or videos to Tom McKenna at tpmckenn@middlebury.edu before April 15.  Ahéheeʼ

Please notify us of accomplishments you’d like to share in the monthly newsletter. Contact Tom McKenna if you’re interested in publishing in the annual BLTN Journal.

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