Rutland, VT – The Orton Family Foundation is very pleased to announce, as the culmination of a six-year “seed and launch” program strategy, that the Foundation's Youth Community Video program will move to Rural School and Community Trust (RSCT), a national nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the quality of education and community life in rural America. Building on the Foundation's efforts to design and pilot this place-based student leadership program, RSCT will make the Youth Community Video program and high school curriculum nationally available through its expanding network of communities and schools.
The Youth Community Video program is a field-tested, teacher-evaluated program that represents a $250,000 investment by the Foundation. The successful transfer of Youth Community Video to RSCT completes a six-year Foundation initiative to seed and launch programs and tools that help educate and engage people in sustainable land use planning. “The Rural School and Community Trust is a highly respected, national organization well known for its quality programs and commitment to rural schools and communities,” says Bill Roper, Orton's Director of Planning Action. “RSCT's extensive network of schools and communities provides the ideal launching pad for Youth Community Video to become a truly national program.”
Youth Community Video grew out of the Foundation's work in developing Community Video, a program that uses video production to engage communities in the process of discovering and articulating a common vision. After writing a “how to” manual for the program in 2002 and seeing it used successfully, especially with young people, the Foundation joined with the Vermont Rural Partnership to pilot a youth version of the program in Vermont schools. The result was a manual and high school curriculum entitled Lights, Camera…Leadership that promotes student leadership and academic skills through the process of making and premiering a community video.
Rachel Tompkins, Executive Director of RSCT, is delighted with the opportunities presented by the Youth Community Video program. “We've long admired Orton's introduction of technology into the classroom and now we have the exciting opportunity to take over the program's delivery, expand its reach and enhance our ability to engage youth in their communities.”
The Youth Community Video curriculum, along with training programs, is now available from RSCT. To find out more about the program and RSCT, visit www.ruraledu.org.