2013 WITS 2014 REPORT
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School Librarians held poetry slams at their schools to prepare for Verselandia!
Eager Madison High School students meet Salman Rushdie.
260
67
Inspiring the next generation of readers and writers
42 28 21
Portland High Schools served with semester-long residencies taught by professional writers
were mentored by community members at a college essay writing tutorial at Reed College for Franklin, Madison, and Roosevelt High Schools
Students become stronger writers by learning new strategies for starting, sustaining, and revising their writing projects. WITS programming reinforces the real world importance of reading and writing in all professions and is designed to meet state and national standards for the arts and language arts. Public high school principals, teachers, and librarians throughout Multnomah County partner with WITS because they believe WITS: • inspires students to become more enthusiastic writers
• contributes to student achievement in reading and writing • helps schools reach their goal of teaching writing across the disciplines
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Teachers learned new strategies to teach writing Local Writers shared their expertise with youth
competed in Verselandia!
13 attended slam poetry classes at Literary Arts
15 attended a live taping of OPB’s Think Out Loud featuring Julia Alvarez
1,074
students served
1,423
participated in semester-long residencies
3,608
attended an author event at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, including the Everybody Reads lecture with Justice Sonia Sotomayor
9 were mentored individually and in small groups by writers
• teaches students new tools for becoming stronger writers • helps builds community around literature
Classes worked with a writer
20
attended Verselandia!
Writers in the Schools (WITS) inspires public high school students to write, revise, edit, publish, and perform their own creative writing. The core of the WITS program is semester-long residencies taught by local professional poets, playwrights, graphic novelists, and fiction and non-fiction writers who model and share their disciplined creative writing practices with high school students. Each residency is uniquely designed to support, deepen, and extend existing curriculum.
WITS SNAPSHOT
A SNAPSHOT
570 7 students performed in The MothSHOP at Gresham High School
150
participated in author visits to schools
students attended The MothSHOP event at Gresham High School
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WITS BRINGS THE LITERARY WORLD TO SCHOOLS
WITS tailors its services to meet the needs of each school.
LITERARY EXPERIENCES
WITS RESULTS
WITS INVESTS IN OUR SCHOOLS
WITS extends literary experiences beyond the classroom. WITS provides professional development for teachers. 22 of the 28 teachers served by WITS this year had already hosted a writer in the past, demonstrating their confidence in and enthusiasm for the WITS program. WITS served 6 new-to-WITS teachers, demonstrating our commitment to reach new teachers each year. WITS hired 21 writers: 11 returning writers to maintain program stability and 10 new writers to diversify our roster in terms of ethnicity, genre, and aesthetic. 1,074 students participated in semester-long residencies. WITS helped schools meet their goals of teaching writing across the disciplines by providing residencies in Media & Society, Art Appreciation, Communications and Radio, Food & Culture, Humor & Culture, English Language Development, Sheltered English, and in many Language Arts classes for grades 9-12.
The Real Cost of WITS Since 1996, WITS has invested over $2.8 million in Portland Public Schools in Multnomah County. The program’s total cost for 2013-2014 was $265,000. Combined, schools contributed a total of $19,200, or approximately 7% of the total cost. Schools were served regardless of their ability to pay.
attended 489 students
WITS provided student tickets and transportation to all Portland Arts & Lectures and special events featuring Salman Rushdie, Ann Patchett, Lawrence Wright, Chris Ware & Chip Kidd, Julia Alvarez, Malcolm Gladwell, and Mary Szybist.
served 570 students
WITS coordinated 6 author visits. Nationally known writers Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Salman Rushdie, Lawrence Wright, Julia Alvarez, Chris Ware & Chip Kidd, and Anis Mojgani visited public high schools. A group of WITS students attends the 2014 Everybody Reads event featuring Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Below: Local writer Jonathan Hill engages with Franklin High School students.
served 934 students
WITS partnered with Multnomah County Library and The Library Foundation to host Justice Sonia Sotomayor, author of My Beloved World, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, providing tickets to 934 students and teachers from high schools throughout Multnomah County. Justice Sotomayor also spoke to students at Fir Ridge High School. A WITS participant meets Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
performed of their personal stories for 150 classmates 7 students
The Moth, a nonprofit storytelling troupe from New York, went to Gresham High School High School for a week-long MothSHOP seminar with 7 student storytellers. After working with professional directors all week, the students performed their personal stories for 150 of their classmates. A Gresham High School student performs onstage at MothSHOP.
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WITS students experience the excitement of being published.
Check out our chapbooks at Literary-Arts.org/ What-We-Do/WITS
WITS COORDINATES STUDENT READINGS AND ELEVATES YOUTH VOICES
STUDENT READINGS
PUBLISHING STUDENTS
WITS PUBLISHES STUDENT WORK
WITS students share their work with their communities.
WITS published a new anthology, Where Summit Meets Sky, featuring the work of 49 students. WITS also published three digital chapbooks. These chapbooks, which are available for download on the Literary Arts website (www.literary-arts.org/ what-we-do/wits), feature the work of 102 additional students.
WITS coordinated 16 student readings at local cafes, bookstores, galleries, and restaurants: 14 individual school readings and a two program-wide readings at Powell’s City of Books and at the WITS Fundraiser held at Bluehour. A total of 235 students shared their work with a total audience of 707 community members.
Students honored
Our Community Partners Hosted WITS Readings:
Editors from local publications The Oregonian, Glimmer Train, Burnside Review, and Tin House honored students by selecting their favorite pieces from the print anthology and awarding prizes for poetry and prose.
Annie Bloom’s Books, BiPartisan Café, Bluehour Restaurant, Broadway Books, Cathedral Coffee, Independent Publishing Resource Center, Miss Zumstein Bakery & Coffee Shop, Portland Art Museum, Powell’s Books
work 49 students’ featured
WITS Program Director Mary Rechner talks with a participant at a WITS student reading.
Below: A Lincoln High School student performs in front of friends and family.
What parents have to say about their students reading their creative writing in cafes, bookstores, galleries, and restaurants:
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Definitely inspired him! I feel it has helped my son tremendously. Being able to show something that he is proud of in front of his family and peers. I hope it’s the beginning of growth for him . . . I am glad you’ve provided this opportunity for him to be proud of himself. Told everyone in the family about it. Thank you!
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– KELLY GRIFFITH
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I will say my student has not been a participant in high school, so it was a thrill when she announced she’d be reading at Broadway Books.
– ANONYMOUS PARENT
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All the ESL students and other students in the school should get a chance to be brave and speak in public.
—LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
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WITS RESULTS
WITS RESULTS
WITS EVALUATES RESULTS After working with a WITS writer…
100% 100% 100% 75% 91% 76% 89% 94% 98%
of teachers reported that the WITS residency fulfilled the expectations and goals set for student learning.
of teachers agreed or strongly agreed their students are more able to get started on a writing assignment.
of teachers agreed or strongly agreed their students are more able to sustain a writing assignment.
of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that the WITS writer helped students learn new strategies for revision.
of students reported that they usually or always know how to get started writing.
of students reported that they usually or always know how to revise their writing.
of students reported that they usually or always know how to sustain a piece of writing.
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of parents queried said they believe working with a professional writer has helped their student develop her/his writing skills.
I would say the most powerful piece in terms of student improvement was how one edits his/her work. To edit a comic is similar to editing any piece of writing: arranging, rearranging, etc. The editing process of a comic carried over into our conversations of editing literary analysis.
of parents queried said they believe providing youth with the opportunity to publicly share their work will help them grow as readers and writers.
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Small steps can lead to a big ending, and over time your writing skills will improve drastically with practice and patience.
— CLEVELAND STUDENT
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— DANA VINGER, FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER
Right: Local writer Carter Sickels reads over a student’s work during his residency at Grant High School.
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VERSELANDIA!
WITS trains volunteer mentors to work with students on the essays they need for college and scholarship applications.
Verselandia! is a Portland Public School high school poetry slam—the grand slam for individual school slams hosted by PPS high school library media specialists. Verselandia! is presented by Literary Arts in partnership with PPS high school librarians.
67 students served
One of our mentors works with a student from Franklin High School.
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WITS coordinated a College Essay Writing tutorial in collaboration with Franklin High School teacher Susie Bartley and the Reed College Office of Institutional Diversity. Bartley and WITS trained volunteer mentors to work one-on-one with students on their essays for college and scholarship applications. The workshop was held at Reed’s Kaul Auditorium, and 67 students from Franklin, Madison, and Roosevelt High School attended. Volunteer mentors helped students generate ideas and revise drafts.
Verselandia! 2014 was hosted by National and International Slam Champion Anis Mojgani at Portland Center Stage. The judges were Turiya Autry, Jessica Mozeico, Ramón Pagán, Desmond Spann, and Bob Speltz.
VERSELANDIA!
COLLEGE READINESS
WITS CONTRIBUTES TO COLLEGE READINESS
10 high 20 students schools from competed for an audience of parents, teachers, 500 peers, and poetry fans.
This year’s top five finalists came from schools across Portland: 1st: Bella Trent - MADISON HIGH SCHOOL
2nd: McKinley Rodriquez - LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL 3rd: Juan Ordaz - FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL 4th: Sam Burnett - FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL
Working with a mentor gave me new ‘lenses’ to look at my essay and promoted deeper thought on how to make it better.
– STUDENT PARTICIPANT
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Verselandia! finalists eager to perform at Wieden + Kennedy’s auditorium.
Wieden + Kennedy generously sponsored Verselandia! and brought the 5 finalists to their offices in Portland for a day following the competition. During their time at Wieden + Kennedy, students performed in the atrium for W+K staff, learned about the W+K 12 advertising school, and had lunch at Bluehour with Dan Wieden. Students on their way to our College Essay Writing tutorial led by Susie Bartley.
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Verselandia! winner Bella Trent, from Madison High School.
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OUR SUPPORTERS
Support for the Writers in the Schools program is provided in part by:
POWERING
Autzen Foundation, Mike R. Barr, The Boeing Company, Tom Booth & Megan Holden, Broadway Books, Steve & Peg Busick, Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm & Kevin Kohnstamm, Jan Christensen, The Collins Foundation, Rick Comandich & Maya Muir, Betsy Cramer & Greg Kubicek, Ann & Ron Emmerson, Myron D. Filene, Bob Geddes, Diana Gerding, Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, Susan Hathaway-Marxer & Larry Marxer, Tom & Betsy Henning, Herbert A. Templeton Foundation, Irwin Foundation, Susheela Jayapal, Juan Young Trust, Kinder Morgan Foundation, John Meadows, Lora & Jim Meyer, Deidra Miner, Jessica Mozeico, Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, The Nara Fund, Jan & Steve Oliva, Philip S. Harper Foundation, Nancy & Mike Phillips, Amy Prosenjak & Steven Guy, Robert D. and Marcia H. Randall Charitable Trust, Robin Roberts & John L Backes, Lori Singer, Kaarin & Van Smith, Sterling Bank, Donald & Roslyn Sutherland, U.S. Bancorp Foundation, Kristi Wallace Knight & Eric Wallace, William Dolan, Tom & Marcia Wood, Candace Young
Writers in the Schools Advisory Committee
Public School Principals
Curtis Wilson,
Diana Gerding Cindy Williams Gutierréz Susheela Jayapal Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm Ana Muñoz Ramón Pagán Catherine Theriault Kristin Walrod Tracey Wyatt Sharon Wynde
Petra Callin,
MADISON HIGH SCHOOL
Kate Woicke, OPEN
Public School Librarians
Carol Campbell,
GRANT HIGH SCHOOL
Peyton Chapman,
LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL
Brian Chatard,
WILSON HIGH SCHOOL
Margaret Calvert,
JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL
Paul Cook, CLEVELAND HIGH SCHOOL
Lorna Fast Buffalo Horse, MEEK PRO
TECH HIGH SCHOOL
Shay James, FRANKLIN
Paige Battle Linda Campillo Jan Donald Kiva Liljequest Tracy Russell Nicole Shuster Bryan Smith Nancy Sullivan Betsy Tighe
HIGH SCHOOL
John Koch, GRESHAM HIGH SCHOOL Macarre Traynham, METROPOLITAN LEARNING CENTER
Charlene Williams,
ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL
BENSON HIGH SCHOOL MEADOW HIGH SCHOOL
Public School Teachers Amy Ambrosio Susie Bartley Brady Bennon Mark Bond Matthew Boyer Ilsa Bruer Gene Brunak Sandra Childs Stephanie D’Cruz Jacque Dixon Chris Dreyer Jerry Eaton Daniel Fredgant Alex Gordin Katie Grone Keri Hughes Vanessa Hughes Cindy Irby
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