ABOUT THE FILM
Rise: Voice of a New Generation captures the story of One Stone, a one-of-a-kind, student-led high school in Boise, Idaho, that is rethinking education by changing the balance of power and putting students in charge of their own learning.
The film documents the journey of students and coaches at the school as they launch what has been named one of the most progressive schools in America by both Alan Gottlieb (co-author of America Succeeds’ 2017 reportAge of Agility) and Tom Vander Ark (CEO of Getting Smart). Follow the story of one of the only schools in the country run by students who are exploring a new way forward, where their voices shape the future of education and the world. Students take risks, encourage failure, focus on design thinking and empathy and approach learning in a way that can move as quickly and fluidly as Silicon Valley, a stark departure from the industrial age education system. One Stone’s approach is a model that any education system could draw from to reimagine what their schools could look like.
Chronicling One Stone’s second year as a school throughout 2017/2018, our embedded film crew captured a historical year. Rise- Voice of a New Generation is a compelling look into the hearts and minds of the next generation of leaders. If these kids are the future, the future is bright.
ABOUT ONE STONE
One Stone is a student-led and directed nonprofit that empowers high school students to learn and practice 21st century skills through experiential service, innovative initiatives, social entrepreneurship, and the radical reinvention of learning. As active participants in the governance and direction of the organization, with a board of directors comprised of two-thirds students, one-third adults, students are in the driver’s seat.
Their innovative initiatives initially grew out of the desire to help students use their voice to change the world. But One Stone didn’t set out to be a school. They started as an after-school program to solve problems in their communities. Then One Stone’s end user, high school students, began designing the One Stone high school. Working with the founders, Teresa and Joel Poppen, along with a team of coaches and advisors, they listened, incubated, researched and tore through sticky notes. And what they discovered was this: a unique student-led and directed culture, rooted in empathy and powered by design thinking, was the special sauce that would allow them to reimagine learning. One Stone High School was born, and a revolution was launched.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Jon Long has produced and directed films, television programming and multi-platform media campaigns for over 20 years for companies such as Universal Studios, IMAX, Disney, Universal, Entertainment One, National Geographic and PBS. His passion is the creative process and finding innovative ways to bridge entertainment, technology, distribution and education. He founded The Earth Network to create media projects and experiences that engage audiences and inspire positive social impact. Many of his projects have extensive community engagement and educational initiatives. He created EXTREME for IMAX theaters, which became one of the most successful documentaries of all time and, recently, THE SEARCH FOR FREEDOM for Universal.
A NOTE FROM DIRECTOR JON LONG
Disclosure: I’m not an expert in education, at least not any more of an expert than anyone else who’s been through school.
I recently watched the promo video for the one of the world’s largest education conferences, which features a full roster of speakers who are leaders in their fields and an amazing array of people and ideas at the forefront of education and innovation. But I also noticed something that’s been evident in the education space forever: A lot of adults talking about education with few, if any, kids in sight.
About three years ago, I set out to make a series of films based on the premise that the most impactful idea is that youth should have a real voice and decision making power about the design of their education and their future. Why is hardly anyone talking about this? Victor Hugo said that, “nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” This idea’s time has definitely come and things are about to change. Rise features people who live this idea and are helping spark a revolution that shifts the balance of power so that those most affected by education and who will shape our future actually have a voice that matters.
Rise shows why it’s so important for youth to be active participants and on the same level as the “adults in the room”. Our goal in creating this film is to inspire schools, school boards and education conferences to really bring youth to the decision making table. Each school, each community, each system can do this is their own way. It takes curiosity, imagination, creativity, collaboration and the desire to be inclusive and equitable. The time has come.
