Hope on the Rize is a writing and short film project that builds upon classroom learning to create an immersive and transformative experience for all participants. It leverages the humanizing power of poetry and creativity to build community, empower youth visions and voices, and bridge classroom learning and real-world impact.

" Hope on the Rize aims to transform apathy and disengagement, awakening and sharing the parts of our lives, from the tiny to the huge, that make evident our interconnectedness and capacity for change.  It asks people to come as they are, share what they love, discover new aspects of identity, and participate in telling a new story of what’s hopeful and what’s possible."

– Dr. Elizabeth Miller
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Pseads

Activating Hope in the Classroom

Projects are designed and activated in a collaborative and integrated way, enhancing student learning. Our educational design team partners with educators to understand grade-level academic priorities and classroom culture considerations and to overview the arc of learning that year across history, science and English. Leveraging these insights, and based on an archive of more than a decade of customizing standards-compliant learning journeys to classrooms, we design tailored projects that complement, expand upon and amplify current grade-level and classroom learning experiences.

A sample timeline of our Hope on the Rize program. Timeline may vary due to school and teacher preference.

The first phase of Hope on the Rize projects highlights new ways of thinking and taking action and invites students to further explore their own perspectives through conversation, poetry and reflective writing. Students are then taken step-by-step from an initial creative idea to a final short film that conveys something they value or a powerful message about a change they want to see activated in our world.  Projects culminate in a classroom or grade level “film festival” in which communities, often including parents, are invited to hear students present their films and watch the powerful stories that have been created from this unique immersive learning experience.

Every Vision and Voice Matters

The power of Hope on the Rize goes well beyond incredible completed works of poetry and short films. Students build fluency in academic and real-life skills. They develop a wide range of narrative techniques and skills, from poetry and other forms of reflective writing to scriptwriting and storyboarding to video and sound editing. Students also grow critical self-expression skills, such as active listening, organizing thoughts, speaking with a point of view, and how to move from an idea to a completed project with a clear and compelling message.

Along the way, transformative changes occur. Students grow confidence and self-agency as they develop new skills, passions and ways of looking at the world. They are empowered to embrace and accept that each person has a unique perspective and voice in the world that needs to be heard. Energy shifts from curiosity to hope to desire to be and create the changes they want to see in the world. And to expand the ripple effect of student voices, Pseads plants one tree per project completed.

The Mother Tree Council

We are honored to introduce you to the Mother Tree Council, a remarkable group of esteemed scientists, poets, educators, and experts who have generously offered their time and wisdom to review and uplift the films created through Hope on the Rize. 

Their thoughtful selection process culminates in special awards that are celebrations of the creativity and dedication of our students. These awards have made a lasting impact within classrooms, proudly displayed as a source of inspiration for both teachers and students alike. They spark joy and pride, not only for the students but also for their parents, as these young filmmakers see their hard work acknowledged by some of the brightest minds in their fields. This support shows the power of being witnessed, the power of paying attention to the sources of wisdom, while weaving together generations of caring people in mutual recognition. Learn more about the Mother Tree Council here. 

Mother Tree Advisory and Viewing Council:

Belvie Rooks, social justice advocate

Dr. Brian Thomas Swimme, mathematical cosmologist

Dr. Drew Dellinger, celebrated poet and scholar

Steve Uzzell, National Geographic photographer and speaker

SenSaSheri Maasera, Dominican University, LINES Ballet

Lauren Conrow, Peace Corps, Fiji

Jelani Rooks, Emmy award-winning producer

Kari Kapadia, Senior aerospace systems engineer

Landon Gellert, designer

The Inspiration and Legacy

Poetry is humanizing and transformative.  Inspired by our friend and mentor, Dedan Gills, and poets and scientists across the centuries, the Pseads programs are founded on the notion that even more than something that can be written or spoken, a poem is a way of being. With his wife, educator and social justice advocate Belvie Rooks, Dedan imagined championing the poetry in every person, advancing human dignity, and supporting social and environmental healing through tree planting ceremonies, with trees as emblems of community and transformation.  Hope on the Rize was also deeply informed by the life and legacy of Susan Lambert, whose photography, writing and visual art is a celebration of a commitment she lived every day to “find the extraordinary in the ordinary.”  Her vision inspired Pseads to take the journey of self-expression even further, transforming poems and writing into impactful visual and multimedia narratives that reveal new possibilities and leave a bigger mark on the world.

Learn more about Dedan, Belvie and Susan.

Sample Projects

Check out more inspiring short films created by students for the Hope on the Rize movement on the Pseads YouTube channel!

Student Testimonials