Madera Method Projects: Local students recognized for work that inspired books

MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A special Black History Month ceremony in the North Valley on Monday recognized students for their work on a series of projects focused on race in America.

ABC30 Action News Anchor Brittany Jacob and photojournalist Tom Amico were also honored for their coverage of those projects.

Parts of Black History in the Valley have been chronicled in three books-- all from Madera Method projects.

Founder Bill Coate says the research-based educational program allows Madera Unified students to get face-to-face with history.

"I can see young people come alive to learning, they become owners to a certain extent of their own education," Coate said.

Last year, Eastin- Arcola and La Vina Elementary School students stepped out of the classroom -- and into the past to stand against hate.

After marching and holding signs to raise awareness about the injustice, they took their fight to the courtroom to retry the killers of Emmett Till.

The 14-year-old African American boy was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly flirting with a white woman.

On Monday, Superintendent Todd Lile celebrated the students' accomplishments. He played a documentary of the courtroom saga and even ABC30's coverage--emphasizing the district's diversity.

"We are there now, and we recognize if we are going to lead, we have to have our kid's voices as a part of that leadership," Lile said.

The audience was filled with community members, educators, city leaders, and also Marcella Andrews - who was actually at Emmett Till's funeral more than 60 years ago.

She's been a resident of Madera for more than 65 years, and says she's glad the school district is helping to develop independent thinkers.

Andrews said, "Those students actually thought about what happened, and they formed an opinion about it and they did something about it and that's the way we learn."

Students writing their own story for a brighter future.

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