ATLANTA, GEORGIA USA
100CAMERAS X LUTHER J. PRICE MIDDLE SCHOOL
MADE POSSIBLE BY FRAMEBRIDGE
100cameras X LJPMS is a part of a 8 class course that is custom designed by 100cameras to equip passionate creatives with the tools to empower youth in a community they care about with the opportunity to learn how to process their stories and create change. Pictured here are 100cameras students during the course. This program was made possible by Framebridge.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
100cameras X Luther J. Price Middle School took place twice in both 2021 and 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia USA in partnership with local middle school, Luther J. Price. The school provides a positive family learning environment with an empowered, communicative, cohesive, united staff working with mutual respect and collaboratively committed to motivate and encourage students to strive for academic excellence so they can be productive, successful citizens for their global future.
With roots as one of the few high schools for African Americans in Atlanta, Price Middle School became a middle school in 1987. The school represents a community that is focused on creating a safe and nurturing environment where all stakeholders develop self-awareness, self-management, communicate effectively, show empathy, and use critical thinking skills in order to participate positively in the global community.
Working alongside a group of students across 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, this program was led by Price’s Instructional Media Specialist, Lauren Phillips. She reflects, “It has been a refreshing experience to give students a chance to express themselves artistically through storytelling, specifically through photography. The students have grown in their photography skills and have explored a lucrative field that could possibly help them determine where their career paths may take them. More importantly, they all have products of this growth that they get to share with their families and with others outside their direct community. This, after all, is the purpose of extracurricular activities in middle school, to give students access to diverse experiences that will impact them in the future and place them on trajectories toward future success.”
“In a school like ours, kids don’t always get wins. They are often easily defeated. I was excited to see how students enjoyed learning the new tools and putting them into practice while taking their photos.
In comparing many of the students’ Pre and Post Course Survey responses, some of them expressed an increase in confidence in sharing their personal stories. They took pride in their participation, often volunteering to take pictures in their academic classes to eventually share them with their teachers. Their joy made me feel joy as well.”
At the time of this program, Lauren Phillips, reflected upon how the Atlanta Public Schools students had recently felt the effects of reduced funding for programs that celebrate the arts. They had seen a decrease in marching band participation, vocational courses such as dance and visual arts, and students weren’t being required to participate. “As a result, many students were not able to explore these opportunities in school,” Phillips shared, “However, there are fortunate times when schools get to partner with organizations like 100cameras that bring those experiences back to students. This experience has given students at Price a new way to express themselves.”
“Our partnership with 100cameras has been an amazing opportunity for students to explore an activity that requires them to learn diverse skill sets.
They’ve learned about physical and mental/emotional perspectives, making judgements using important information, and how to explore new tools in an effort to complete tasks, among other skills.
The concepts in the 100cameras curriculum align with our school’s vision to “improve our community by empowering and equipping our students to live liberated, choice filled lives through identity affirmation, skill acquisition, leadership development, authentic problem solving, and student centered ownership and mastery of curriculum.”
MEET THE STUDENTS
“The 100cameras partnership has given students at Price a new way to express themselves. The somewhat broad topics identified on the Photo Adventure Walks gave them autonomy in deciding how to define specific concepts, such as using sunshine rather than smiles to represent happiness.
In a world where tasks are often dictated by specific directions, it was great to offer students the ability to use their voice and to take agency in their learning.”
ABOUT THE PROGRAM LEADER
Ms. Lauren Phillips is a 14-year educator, having taught middle school Language Arts for 6 years. During her time as an educator, she had the awesome opportunity to become her school’s digital storyteller, providing photos and short video stories to share the milestones her school’s staff were making. As a digital storyteller, she quickly learned that covering a school with 900+ students and 60+ teachers was a huge task and that she’d need help. This sparked her interest in forming a student storytelling group. With the success of the past program, she was inspired to start a program at her current school and applied for the 100cameras program. The program has been extremely popular, and she’s hoping this will open up new opportunities to share her hobby with students in Metro Atlanta. “While a well-equipped educator could likely use any medium as a tool to teach many of these skills, I believe that photography gives middle school aged students access to an art form that they don't ordinarily get at this level,” reflects Phillips.
STUDENT IMAGE GALLERY
Follow us on social media to see images from the field as captured by the 100cameras X LJPMS team and the student photographers. Thank you to Framebridge for making this program possible!