Urban Arts Partnership (http://www.urbanarts.org/) serves students in Title I (high-poverty) public schools across all five boroughs of New York City. Of the 1.3 million students in the NYC public school system, nearly 15% drop out, only roughly 60% go on to eventually graduate, and within this pool, multiple studies and personal accounts suggest that graduates are not prepared for the rigors of post-secondary education and competitive career paths. The MediaLab program provides advanced media training to low-income high school students from districts across New York City. In addition to having little opportunity to receive this kind of intensive training, students in these high-poverty schools have few chances to raise their awareness of serious and immediate social concerns and to develop action plans to respond to them. During the summer months, these students also have limited options for structured, constructive programming to fill their free time.
Based out of Urban Arts Partnership’s state-of-the-art media lab, the summer media activist project connects students to vital social issues through advanced training in filmmaking, digital editing and professional-level production and promotion. Funds raised will ensure that students will work with experienced and dedicated teaching artists and professional equipment.
This MediaLab Summer 2011 project will impact the lives of 4 students from 5 high-poverty schools across the city, in addition to those of their families, friends, and communities.
This project will fund the personnel and materials needed for the Summer 2011 session of MediaLab, including teaching artists, filmmaking equipment, and food/travel for our students.
In our 2008 and 2009 summer media lab projects In My Shoes, and Ghetto Talks (respectively) students researched vital social issues, interviewed experts, trained as producers and documented and edited the stories they uncovered. They then effectively raised their voices to make an impact as part of an ongoing campaign, screening at schools across the city, online, and both are official selections at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, The Tribeca Film Festival, and more; In My Shoes also screened at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival and Ghetto Talks is an official selection at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth. MediaLab 2011 will build upon the success of previous installments of the program.
Students from high-poverty high schools face challenges in their road to graduation, college, and employment in the 21st century economy. The MediaLab program addresses the achievement gap through:
1) developing the artistic and technical skills of the students, so that they are more equipped to compete in a digital world and
2) linking the project work to core NYC DOE learning standards and providing the students with real-world connections that re-engage them with their academic studies.
MediaLab is a project with a strong history, so the implementation will be modeled on previous installments. In our 2008 and 2009 summer MediaLab projects, students researched vital social issues, interviewed experts, trained as producers and documented and edited the stories they uncovered. They then effectively raised their voices to make an impact as part of an ongoing campaign, screening at schools across the city, online, and even at film festivals (The Tribeca Film Festival, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, and more.) The project will be managed by a professional teaching artist and the Urban Arts staff, including our Executive Director and Director of Special Projects.
Los Angeles, CA
About Me: Hoping to make the world a better place.
Nicole V. donated to 2011 New York City Media Lab Program! - about 1 year ago visit the project
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