John & Marilyn Connelly Award

Winner for 2007
Jeff Rudkin
Lora Batchelor Middle School
Bloomington, IN

Jeff Rudkin created the BTV program at Lora Batchelor Middle School in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1995 as an extension of his video production elective class. In those 12 years, hundreds of students from elementary through high school have received countless awards for a wide range of projects and productions.

Jeff inspires students to produce works covering a wide range of topics and curricular areas. The largest scale productions have been feature-length videos of classic literature including Frankenstein, Tom Sawyer, and Oliver Twist. Students read the original classics, wrote screen plays, created costumes, found shooting locations, acted, filmed, produced and edited. These productions tied language arts standards into projects that students loved to participate in. World premier screenings at the local theater complete with limousine arrivals and red carpets were great motivators for students. The list of participants in Oliver Twist was well over 100.

Historical events tied to real experiences are also key elements of BTV projects. Students under Jeff’s instruction interviewed dozens of local World War II veterans, compiling over 9 hours of documentary footage which was submitted to the Library of Congress as part of the national Veterans Oral History Project. Students also published a book, A Time for Heroes, documenting these veterans’ experiences. This book was an enormous accomplishment and serves as a testament to the service of these veterans.

BTV students have also focused on the holocaust. Working with a local holocaust survivor they created several documentaries on the events of the holocaust, brought her as a speaker to the entire school community, and accompanied her to Poland in 2005 to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camp where she was interned, Auschwitz. The personal experiences of those who participated in that trip along with the documentary they created have impacted hundreds of students in Monroe County.

Jeff encourages his students to study areas of interest to themselves and the community. Recent projects that have been recognized through awards from CSPAN and the National School Board Association included topics such as No Child Left Behind legislation and creationism verses evolution. These middle school students interviewed experts, thought critically about the subjects, and produced well-balanced and thoughtful films on controversial and sophisticated topics.

Jeff is untiring in his dedication to BTV. He spends countless hours after school and on weekends providing a space for students to meet and work on projects. BTV was most recently recognized with over 20 winning entries in the 2007 International Student Media Festival – a record number for this school. He has successfully organized students and parents to raise funds each year to take 25-30 students to the ISMF to attand workshops and receive well-earned recognition for their work. He also has taken students to visit several colleges and film schools to promote further study in this field. Several BTV alums are currently pursuing study in telecommunications and film production due directly to Jeff’s inspiration and guidance.

National Educator Award

In November, 2008, Jeff Rudkin was one of two teachers in Indiana to receive the National Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation for his service and great example to educators and students. Teacher Magazine calls this distinguished award the “Oscar of Teaching”. Jeff received his surprise award at a big assembly with the entire student body and staff of the Batchelor Middle School in attendance. He feels this award is a reflection of his students’ work over the past year and the awards his class has won in the past three months. They had 21 winning projects at the International Student Media Festival alone.