North Putnam is a special initiative of The Castle, a nonprofit organization in Putnam County, Indiana that partners with local schools to provide learning experiences for students where they feel seen, heard, valued and empowered, and to support teachers in their ability to create environments that spill over with joy, creativity, relevance, rigor and authenticity. In Fall 2019, The Castle joined forces with award-winning director, Joel Fendelman, to make a film that aims to create a conversation about public education as a vital component of a thriving democracy and to build bridges across divides. We decided to zero in on North Putnam, one of The Castle's partners, which is exemplary in its capacity to build an intentional culture of care at the same time that it serves as a microcosm for so many rural school districts across the country. For the next two years, we essentially became part of the fabric of the schools and community while we captured—fly-on-the-wall style—the daily rhythm of life. As such, it’s a quiet film, meant to provide an extended glimpse into a world and set of concerns that so many share but are often overlooked.
North Putnam depicts the larger context in which The Castle lives, the "why" behind the programs and partnerships it develops, the urgency we feel as an organization to nurture learning environments where kids and teachers feel connected to what they’re learning and to each other. It’s not overblown to say that our public education system is wracked with challenges that threaten to subsume it, and we don’t shy away from depicting these challenges in this film. But this is primarily a story of hope. We hope audiences come away feeling inspired by the administrators, teachers, students and community members of North Putnam and energized to develop impactful strategies for their own communities.