The Ups and Downs of Community Cultivating
Field Notes from Farmville, Virginia Post #1
In this post, I want to take you on a journey with Torrie Patterson, a community cultivator from Farmville, Virginia. While resilient community cultivators always choose to face the dawn, sometimes we do so while standing in a season of darkness.
The Dawn: How Youth Helped Change School Culture
On February 24th, 2024, a dozen students from Prince Edward High School gave voice to seventy of their peers through a Black History Program.
This program grew out of a nine-month-long youth-led community listening project designed to discover and amplify the gifts and strengths of Prince Edward High School students in Farmville, Virginia.
When students were asked what they would do to help strengthen their community, the top student response was to address low motivation and student apathy.
When we asked students what they would do to improve motivation, the top response was “change school culture” by helping students feel heard, understood, and valued.
Through listening, two key gifts emerged: The gift of story and culture, and the creative gifts of the students. Prince Edward County has an incredible history of youth-led activism. In 1951,16-year-old Barbara Johns inspired a student walkout, which ultimately contributed to the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education United States Supreme Court ruling declaring segregation of schools illegal.
In 2024, the students of Prince Edward High used this powerful legacy and their own performing arts, storytelling, and musical gifts to make their voices heard. They did this through a community-wide Black History program performed from the very stage where Barbara Johns inspired change over 70 years prior. They titled the program, For the Next Generation, knowing that, like Johns, they would likely not reap the benefits of their efforts. You can learn more about this program here.
The response to this bold statement was mixed. Students, parents, and teachers applauded the courage and honesty of the students who brought their experiences to light, while some school board members, community leaders, and school administrators questioned the validity of these experiences.
Afterward, the students who led the effort were invited to speak at the Prince Edward County school board, the Prince Edward Democratic Committee meeting, and had numerous conversations with adults in positions of power who wanted to help them. They witnessed the beginning of a massive culture shift when the School Superintendent resigned in September of 2024. This led to a new High School Principal, who brought a fresh vision that welcomed student voices and celebrated community engagement.
Where We Are Today
Recently, Torrie and I had the privilege of meeting the new principal, Mrs. Tibbs. When I asked her what her dream for Prince Edward High School was, she stated, “I want Prince Edward High School to be a place where all students and teachers want to be.” She went on to share a number of changes she had instituted, including positive office referrals, school dances, and spirit days. Mrs. Tibbs shared her heartfelt hope that all students would be proud to be Prince Edward Eagles.
As impressive as all these culture-shifting initiatives are, I think the one that impressed me most was when she said, “It is easy for us to say no to new ideas. I want to be the kind of leader who starts with yes.” She backed up this sentiment by granting Torrie an opportunity to work more closely with the school, something Torrie had been dreaming of for years.
The initial team of youth who helped usher in these culture shifts graduated last May. During the Black History Program, their repeated mantra was “Do you hear us?” I would say the response from the new administration is a resounding YES!
Navigating Darkness
While we can look back now and see that the work of the first cohort of youth had a profound impact, there was a period of time when we were uncertain what would come of these efforts. During that hazy season, Torrie decided to try something different with her second cohort. She shifted from a school-based project to a community-based project, focusing on her recently renovated facility called The Lighthouse.
While the effort of getting this facility renovated tapped into the passion, imagination, and creative gifts of the first cohort of youth, the second cohort had no such co-creative ownership, and the group eventually disbanded.
There were several challenges, with the most significant being that this cohort consisted almost entirely of rising ninth graders. I had warned Torrie that this age group may lack the maturity needed for this kind of youth-led effort, and sadly, that was the case. I don’t think Torrie will ever put herself in a room full of 9th-grade girls ever again! Additionally, Prince Edward is a very rural county, and transportation was also a factor. However, I do not think the failure of this group to succeed is entirely related to the students’ lack of maturity or accessibility; I think Torrie would agree that much of it was related to her own feelings of burnout.
As the second cohort of youth leaders unraveled, so did Torrie. She wisely realized that the demands of trying to fight systemic challenges affecting youth were adversely impacting her mental, emotional, and spiritual health. She had reached the end of her rope and needed a lifeline if she hoped to survive or have any hope of one day thriving in her calling to work with the youth of her community.
In the fall of 2025, she did something incredibly courageous – she took a temporary leave of absence. As I shared in a recent post, I have personally reached the same level of burnout that Torrie reached twice in my life and was able to take a sabbatical both times, and both profoundly shaped my life. I believe the same will be true for Torrie.
Coming Back to Life
As we sat in Mrs. Tibbs’ office a few weeks ago and Torrie shared her desire to work with the students at Prince Edward High, I saw glimmers of her old spark return. Sometimes we have to go through a period of darkness before the dawn illuminates our path.
This past week, my own spark was reignited when Brittney Davis, one of the key student leaders from the For the Next Generation program, who is now a freshman at Longwood University, shared her vision for continuing to work with Prince Edward High School. Brittney and a team of students from Longwood want to support the dream of more vocational and enrichment opportunities that emerged during the 2023 listening project. They wish to develop a community-engaged vocational development collaborative in partnership with the Prince Edward High School, SEED Innovation Hub, and community partners like Torrie and myself. Brittany is a remarkable young woman, and I can’t wait to see where her part of this story leads.
On Dec. 21st, 2025, we celebrated the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Every day from that point on is just a little longer, with a little more daylight than the day before. I feel like Torrie and I are both experiencing coming into the light day by day, and I am thankful you all have joined us on our journey by allowing us to share our story.
We tend to focus on those things in our community cultivation efforts that work, but for every successful effort, there are multiple dead ends. I hope you will take the gift of courage from the youth of Prince Edward High School, perseverance from Torrie, and hope for the emerging possibilities shining in Brittney’s smile.
POSTSCRIPT: Less than an hour after I shared this post, Torrie texted me to say that one of the young ladies in her second cohort had caught the vision and was using the lighthouse to expand her hair-braiding business. Just when we had given up hope, the seed Torrie had planted took root. That is the fun part of doing youth-driven development, you just never know what will happen. Brittany now has the first micro enterprise budding in the lighthouse that she helped renovate and bring to life. I just love it when what appears to be a dead end turns into a doorway.
Have you seen an ABCD effort lead to systems change like the shift in school culture named above? What community gift was used?
Have you seen an ABCD fail to bear fruit as Torrie and I have? What might be composted for future growth?
Have you ever hit the point of burnout? How did you navigate it?
Are you at the end of your rope now and in need of time to reflect and process in order to find enough light to move forward? How might we pray for you?
Recommended Readings
Embrace Communities, Unsung Heroes Project. This project is another example of youth using the history of school desegregation to bring about positive change.
kathy escobar’s post, Nurturing Equity
Margaret Edds book We Face the Dawn: Oliver Hill, Spottswood Robinson, and the Legal Team That Dismantled Jim Crow
If you found this post helpful, I hope you will consider subscribing and sharing with others. All materials are free, and 100% of any paid subscriptions are donated directly to Embrace Communities.
"For every successful effort, there are multiple dead ends." My experience tells me this is a true statement. It's part of why I hate it when schools have signs that say things like "failure is not an option." If failure isn't an option, then we are limited in what we are willing to try. Sometimes (often?) we have to go through the process and several months on the other side before we know if something is a success or failure. There can't be any learning without failure and dead ends. I say, "Get out there and fail!" (Just don't stop there.)
It took a lot of courage for the students to put themselves out there in front of the community. It is disappointing that some of the grownups/power holders saw this in a negative light. It is very good to hear others took the time to listen and real commit to real change in the school.
I am glad Torie was able to take some time off to regain her strength and focus to continue her work.