A recently-released documentary about a design program in a Bertie County (NC) public school provides a glimpse of what's possible when a rural community's unique assets are the centerpiece of an in-school program. The documentary, "If You Build It," features the work of Emily Pilloton and her students, who worked together as part of a program called Studio H from 2008-2010. The documentary follows their work over one of those years. She ultimately gave a TED Talk about the work they did.
When I first heard about Emily, I was curious to find out if she was still in ENC three years later. I discovered that Emily had moved to Berkeley and partnered with a local charter school to build another, similar program. By then, she had started a full-on non-profit called Project H.
Best I can tell via some Google forensics (and I may be wrong) is that the superintendent who recruited Emily to come to Bertie demonstrated poor judgment with school district funds and resigned. She apparently left the same summer. The funding for Emily's program was probably discontinued amidst this fiasco, though I'm not sure the extent to which her program's funding was wrapped up in the fund mismanagement issue. More on that here and here. If you happen to know more, feel free to add in the comments.
An altogether heartening and cautionary tale.
Best I can tell via some Google forensics (and I may be wrong) is that the superintendent who recruited Emily to come to Bertie demonstrated poor judgment with school district funds and resigned. She apparently left the same summer. The funding for Emily's program was probably discontinued amidst this fiasco, though I'm not sure the extent to which her program's funding was wrapped up in the fund mismanagement issue. More on that here and here. If you happen to know more, feel free to add in the comments.
An altogether heartening and cautionary tale.
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