Spotlight on the Democracy Project in Miles City, Montana
Democracy Project Teens Record a Videocast in Miles City, MT
24 seniors in the Advanced English class at Custer County District High School are producing a student-run, community videocast called Ad Pod (Ad is short for Advisory, the first class period each day. It will air weekly on closed circuit TV, focusing on school and district announcements, sports, club information, and fun segments like “student in the hall” interviews and anonymous shout-outs to anyone they are grateful for. The inspiration for AdPod came from several hours of discussion. Students broke down community from city-level into school-level, and a couple more hours of discussion led to their desire to spread information in an entertaining way. Students volunteered to take different project roles based on their skills and comfort levels, and AdPod, a student-created video news program, was born.
The impact was that both teachers and students looked forward to the weekly news. Teachers volunteered to be interviewed and agreed to silly segments for their Instagram channel. Students responded to the riddle and participated in “student in the halls” impromptu interviews. The biggest impact was that students explored new technology skills and became comfortable writing scripts and appearing on camera. They developed confidence with equipment, editing, special effects, and working as a group in collaborative ways they hadn’t before. Follow along “behind the scenes” on Instagram @adpodatccdhs
“I think I’ve found my niche,” one student said. “I really like being in front of the camera and I feel like I can speak on school events without even having a script.”
Along the way, teens began to take a closer look at how they can help create a positive school culture by being visible and recognizing other students, staff, and school personnel. They struggled to find a way to “give back” that was meaningful until a teacher made the comment “strong kids make strong communities” one day in passing, and that became the catalyst for the culmination of their Democracy Project – how can we help make kids stronger?
Throughout the course of their project, teens discussed what “community” means to them as students in a school, and their conversation, through their experience and student feedback. took a turn toward “helping students feel like they belong.” They discussed ways students can feel like they have a “place,” and the conversation turned toward children who are placed or live in foster care. Through discussion and research, they chose to create a special AdPd episode to donate their remaining funds to the Miles City Foster Care Project, which helps with transition into care for both children and foster families by providing comfort items, necessities, training, and support services.
Ad Pod will be carried out by the future seniors of CCDHS.
