Petersburg Rising

Streaming video - 2021

Through the vivid personal stories of students, PETERSBURG RISING celebrates how one community rallied behind an inspiring leader to support its schools, breaking generational cycles of failure and underperformance to achieve success through re-accreditation. Petersburg, VA was once home to the largest free Black community in America, and fell into financial ruin a century later, after a major corporation pulled up stakes. For more than a decade following, schools in Petersburg struggled, failed, and even lacked basic accreditation. Students dropped out in large numbers and faced tough times at home in one of the state's most impoverished communities. It looked to be all too common American story of economic boom-to-bust, until an extr...aordinary group of leaders entered the picture to turn the tide by investing in children and their education. Petersburg, Virginia was to be a new model for the state, and perhaps the nation. When Dr. Marcus Newsome announced his retirement as superintendent from a neighboring wealthy, successful school district in order to act on his second doctorate in divinity, he was asked if he would instead consider running the poorest, lowest performing district in the state. Upon taking on the superintendency of Petersburg City Public Schools in 2016, the move was equated to "Michael Jordan coming out of retirement" by a school board member. Yet the challenges ahead remained enormous. Petersburg was millions of dollars in debt with the district near default on teacher paychecks. Hope was missing in the city. Petersburg Rising is a story told through the struggles and triumphs of five students followed throughout one school year. The film proves that new results come with new resources and support, and that ultimately, there are no "throw away" kids, only kids being "thrown away". more