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For Students

July 24, 2014

Last Updated on by Jane Higgins

Student Programs and Initiatives

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The New York City Writing Project is currently in the process of expanding its options for student participation within the project.  We never charge students to participate in our programming.

Our programming is typically geared for students in grades 9-12, though some exceptions may be made.  Please note that not all programs are offered at all times; for more information, follow the links to the programs below:

  • Youth VoicesThe Youth Voices Inquiry Project provides the opportunity for students and teachers to re-make themselves into social-media power users while connecting students’ academic learning with their personal passions and wider concerns. Students and teachers co-learn in a 3:1 ratio to immerse participants in a low-risk, high-gain  experience related to youth culture, interest and technology usage. Among other things, the Youth Voices Inquiry Project will support the development of open curriculum projects created by teachers, Youth-Voices-centric episodes of BronxNet’s Open 2.0 and new understandings about badging. The Youth Voices program has been successful as both an outside-of-the-classroom summer and/or Saturday program, as well as a school-based inquiry. We are currently in the process of exploring the uses of Youth Voices as a classroom curriculum for social justice, Advisory and technology-based classes.
  • Student Readings:  The NYCWP organizes and hosts readings of student writing at different points throughout the years.  Student readers are typically middle- and high-school aged students who are enrolled at a school where there is an NYCWP on-site presence. While the writings are entirely the students’ own, they are born from Writing Project classrooms and, as such, from Writing Project methodology. Past readings have been hosted at historic venues such as the Bowery Poetry Club and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
  • Elementary Writing Clubs:  During the 2015-2016 school year, the NYCWP received a grant from a private funder in response to our desire to do more direct work with students in grades K-5. The result of this grant has been the design of three writing clubs at different school sites in Manhattan and the Bronx. These clubs will be facilitated by two NYCWP teacher leaders with mentorship from past NYCWP Second Year Fellows (2YFs) from 2014 and 2015; NYCWP staff will also support the design and implementation of the work that will be done with students at each site. If your school is interested in an Elementary Writing Club, please contact the NYCWP to find out more about how you can get students from your school involved.
  • Teens Take the Met:  The NYCWP is thrilled to partner with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to produce more teen-facing programs. As a participant in Teens Take the Met, the NYCWP leads teens through an art- and writing-based scavenger hunt. Students travel to different galleries to find NYCWP staff and volunteers, who will direct them to a work or works of art and provide writing prompts related to the work(s) and gallery(ies). Teens then write 140-character Twitter Fiction to post to social media and/or create SnapChat Stories to share with friends.

If you are interested in participating in NYCWP Student Programming, please contact admin@nycwritingproject.org.