YOUTH LEADERSHIP • TEACHER INNOVATION • SOCIAL JUSTICE
a nge t he h C o t g Wo r n i t i l r d W
Andover Br ead Loaf A Phillips Academy Outreach Program
“
Andover Bread Loaf embodies the best of Phillips Academy: scholarship, social justice, and a deep commitment to youth leadership. The team’s work is helping to bring pedagogical and policy changes to classrooms, school districts, and entire communities.”
Beth Friedman Director of Outreach, Phillips Academy
ABL’s Mission Through writing, creative self-expression, and the arts, Andover Bread Loaf (ABL) promotes literacy and educational revitalization in economically disadvantaged public school systems and communities in the United States and abroad. ABL views education through the lens of social justice, ignites a passion for learning, and empowers students and teachers to transform themselves, their schools, and their communities.
A Brief History ABL was launched in 1987 as a site of the Bread Loaf Teacher Network, established by Middlebury College’s renowned Bread Loaf School of English. That summer, ABL’s inaugural Writing Workshop for Teachers convened on the Phillips Academy campus for educators from nearby Lawrence and Boston, Mass., who attended free of charge. ABL has since created an array of workshops, activities, and events offered at no cost to educators, community members, and pre-K through high school students and their families. To learn more about ABL, visit www.andover.edu/abl.
Photos by Gil Talbot, John Hurley, Elissa Salas, Jill Clerkin, Teddy Anderson
ABL CULTIVATES A LOVE OF LEARNING
Using words as tools for change Andover Bread Loaf’s “celebratory pedagogy” honors the innate intelligence and creativity of students through an inclusive, engaging, and
ABL Director Lou Bernieri—Bread Loaf School of English graduate, ABL founder, and Phillips Academy English instructor—offers Lawrence students a writing prompt.
student-centered approach. Honed over the course of more than 30 years, ABL’s core principles help to foster the development of eager, confident learners regardless of background or circumstance.
Make it fun and inclusive. In urban Lawrence, Mass., ABL’s longtime hub, more than 1,500 students, teachers, and community members participate annually in activities and events such as: • Summer writing workshops • After-school clubs and vacation programming • Writing conferences • Family Literacy Nights • Open mic nights and spoken-word performances
Develop youth leaders. Each year, ABL trains more than 70 teenagers from Lawrence High School and Phillips Academy as writing leaders, instilling in them a love of teaching and a set of leadership skills that have helped to launch community leaders on their paths toward careers in the advancement of education and social justice.
Work collaboratively. ABL has spearheaded the development of a collective that includes more than 18 Lawrence community organizations, cultural institutions, schools, and businesses that support youth development. Resources and ideas—as well as the teaching and mentoring skills of ABL’s writing leaders—are shared. Collaboration is a critical component of ABL’s success. 1
ABL FOCUSES ON STUDENTS IN LAWRENCE
Developing confident, effective youth leaders Culturally rich yet economically disadvantaged, the
on multimedia projects, and explore the history of
city of Lawrence is a lively multilingual community.
their city. They also produce a literary magazine
The children of immigrants often hunger to give
and host a historical exhibition.
voice to their family’s unique history. ABL turns this very human need to be heard—and valued—into powerful storytelling, poetry, and self-expression.
Lawrence Student Writers Workshop—ABL’s flagship student program, Lawrence Student Writers Workshop (LSWW) is held for three weeks
Young people who attend ABL’s five core programs,
each summer at Phillips Academy. Approximately
described below, create, write, and share in a
100 students in grades 8–10 build writing and
supportive environment. This “expanded learning
artistic skills through programming led by ABL
time” yields broad positive outcomes.
teachers and writing leaders. LSWW focuses on
Crumbs—ABL’s program for pre-K through grade 1, Crumbs gets children excited about expressing their ideas and feelings through words, drawing, play
social justice, civic activism, and self-expression through theatre, music, dance, art, photography, and film.
Writing Leader Training—Students in grades
acting, and turns at the mic.
Slice of Bread Loaf—For grades 2–5, “The Slice” runs two weeks in July at the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, one of ABL’s many community partners. Similar to other ABL programs, students write, act, draw, paint, make music, and produce a literary magazine. The program culminates with a student reading and exhibition of their art.
9–12+ are trained during the summer and school year to become writing leaders, who then utilize their skills, energy, and enthusiasm to staff and run ABL programs. These confident young people also spark change in their home and school communities by initiating writing conferences, spoken-word poetry performances, and new partnerships, and by becoming activists for
Rising Loaves—For grades 6–7, Rising Loaves
social justice. Nearly 98 percent of ABL writing
meets for three weeks in July at the Lawrence
leaders report that they matriculate at a college
History Center, another ABL partner. Students
or university, compared to 67 percent of Latinx
write and share their poetry and prose, collaborate
high school graduates across the United States.
ABL’s pre-K to college pipeline of educators, activists, and leaders
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Crumbs
Slice of Bread Loaf
Rising Loaves
Lawrence Student Writers Workshop
Writing Leader Training
Pre-K–Grade 1
Grades 2–5
Grades 6–7
Grades 8–10
Grade 9–college
“
Sometimes the younger children will take to the mic or draw what they want to say. The storytelling skills are there even if the writing skills are not yet developed.� James Mora, ABL Writing Leader Shortly after arriving from the Dominican Republic, James Mora enrolled as a sophomore in Lawrence High School. He learned about ABL through his Writing Lab class as a junior, trained as an ABL writing leader, and initiated a writing and arts workshop for elementary school children at a nearby housing project. He is now a college student, ABL summer workshop coordinator, and NextGen youth leader (see page 9).
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ABL SUPPORTS DEDICATED TEACHERS
Invigorating urban educators
“ A BL reclaims the role of teachers as compassionate and effective educators, researchers, and advocates for equitable and democratic public education.” —Dixie Goswami, Founder, Bread Loaf Teacher Network
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ABL’s pedagogy is spreading far and wide through
Graduate School Opportunities—Each summer,
the hundreds of teachers who attend the program’s
ABL teacher workshop participants visit
transformative summer workshop, pursue advanced
Middlebury’s Bread Load School of English in
degrees, and share their energy and ideas through
Vermont to exchange perspectives, methods, and
a vibrant teacher network.
ideas with fellow teachers, writers, actors, and
ABL Writing Workshop for Teachers—Since 1987, more than 500 teachers, educators, and community activists have attended ABL’s intensive 14-day
professors. More than 60 ABL workshop alumni have earned master’s degrees from the Bread Loaf School of English thanks to fellowships provided by
professional development workshop on the Phillips
the school’s generous financial aid program.
Academy campus. Participants write in many genres,
Bread Loaf Teacher Network—ABL is a satellite
discuss educational theory, learn about creative uses of technology in the classroom, and more. Best of all, they work together regularly with the teenagers in the Lawrence Student Writers Workshop.
of the Bread Loaf Teacher Network (BLTN), an international research-based network that generates professional development opportunities. Through the BLTN, teachers, faculty, and students collaborate
Teachers report that the workshop rejuvenates
to create innovative “blended learning” projects
their passion for teaching, empowers them in the
that enhance literacy and promote understanding.
classroom, and provides a supportive community
Lawrence-area BLTN members work collaboratively
that enriches their professional and personal lives.
with ABL’s Lawrence collective (see page 7) to
Workshop alumni are awarded graduate school credits
offer myriad workshops, conferences, training
by Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English.
opportunities, and school and community events.
“
We hear it from new students all the time: ‘I don’t like to write.’ ABL teachers are privileged to witness students’ growth from disinterest to excitement and selfconfidence as they find their voices.” Jineyda Tapia, ABL Associate Director Determined to use her education and talents to benefit her home community, Lawrence native Jineyda Tapia became an English teacher at Lawrence High School. In 2009, at ABL’s Writing Workshop for Teachers, she discovered new ways to motivate her students—and a new joy in teaching. She earned an MEd degree from the Bread Loaf School of English and in 2015 became director of ABL’s Lawrence Student Writers Workshop. In 2017, she joined the Phillips Academy faculty as an English instructor.
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ABL THRIVES ON COLLABORATION
Growing an international network
Ummi Modeste
Anna West
Mohsin Tejani
New York City
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Karachi, Pakistan
“My experience at the ABL Writing
“Teachers and organizers really need
“Andover Bread Loaf is our lifeline—the
Workshop for Teachers back in 1994 was
the kind of imaginative rejuvenation and
reason our school exists and prospers!”
transformative,” says Ummi Modeste of
deep retreat that ABL provides,” says
says Mohsin Tejani.
her first connection with the program.
Dr. Anna West. “It assures us that there
“I gained new teaching skills, learned new
is an alternative to the current system of
ways of thinking about education, and met
education, which so often feels flat and
teachers from all across the country.”
unimaginative. At the summer workshop
In 2000, Modeste became an ABL Writing Workshop director and has returned to Andover every summer since. “The workshop has evolved,” she says.
it in our bodies, conjure it through our writing, and joyfully share our vision of what learning should be.”
“Participants today see teaching as
West attended the ABL Writing Workshop
an opportunity to detect, analyze, and
for Teachers in 2016 and returned in
address social injustice.” Along with
2018 as a director. The energy and
organizing and directing ABL’s New York
purpose she taps through ABL is infused
City site, Modeste has also helped plan
in Humanities Amped, a program she
and lead ABL conferences in Lawrence,
cofounded in 2014 that helps students
New Orleans, the Navajo Nation (Arizona),
become agents of change.
Nairobi, Tanzania, and Haiti. Adjunct professor, Empire State College • College counselor, City-As-School • Founder, East Brooklyn Poets • Spoken-word performance artist
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we experience education otherwise, feel
Founder, Forward Arts (Baton Rouge) • Cofounder, Louder Than a Bomb youth poetry slam festival (Chicago) • Organizer, Mass LEAP, a Massachusetts poetry educators’ collective
A 1997 ABL Writing Workshop for Teachers alumnus, Tejani has returned to ABL numerous times over the past 20 years as a visiting scholar. In 2010, he founded The School of Writing in Karachi, Pakistan, to serve underprivileged communities through literacy and arts programming based on ABL methodologies. Tejani also collaborates with ABL partners in Mumbai. “Along with empowering young people, we want to provide more opportunities for youth interaction on issues of peace, tolerance, diversity, and inclusivity,” says Tejani. Executive director, The School of Writing • Director, inaugural ABL international conference (Karachi, 2000) • Member, Bread Loaf Teacher Network’s Peace Literacy Network
ABL’s Lawrence Collective ABL collaborates with these key partner organizations in Lawrence: Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence • Elevated Thought • Lawrence Arts House • Lawrence History Center • Lawrence Public Library • Movement City • El Taller Café • Lawrence Youth Council • Essex Art Center • Sí, Se Puede • Lawrence Communityworks • various Lawrence public schools and local charter schools ABL partners at Phillips Academy: Addison Gallery of American Art • Department of English • Office of Community Engagement
Vermont Kentucky Navajo Nation New Mexico
Window Rock, Arizona
Louisville
Massachusetts
Lawrence, Andover, Boston, Haverhill, Lowell, Methuen
New York N
NNew York City
Santa Fe
South Carolina Aiken
Pakistan
Louisiana Loui i
Karachi
New Orleans, Baton Rouge ouuge
India
Mumbai
Haiti
Puerto Rico
El Salvador
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ABL INSPIRES DEDICATION
Sharing the pedagogy
“ Under-resourced students and teachers deserve a program like ABL to inspire their work and enrich their lives. We can’t settle for less.” —Rich Gorham, PA ’86, ABL Associate Director
It might seem that Rich Gorham lives in two worlds.
Several ABL initiatives are led by Gorham,
A popular English teacher at Lawrence High School
including Family Literacy Nights, citywide literacy
for more than two decades, he is also a Phillips
conferences, the Lawrence Day of Writing, and
Academy alumnus and wrestling and track coach.
the Robert Frost Foundation’s monthly Poetry Hoot.
But there’s an unequivocal connection.
He also helps direct ABL summer workshops.
“Everything I do as an educator is driven by ABL’s core principles,” says Gorham, a Writing Workshop for Teachers alumnus and ABL’s associate director since 2002. “My work has been enriched immeasurably by the teacher network here in Lawrence and across the globe. ABL has taught me that every child is brilliant, beautiful, and magical.” Gorham’s innovative, nationally acclaimed writing class at Lawrence High School is an incubator for ABL writing leaders. “Writing Lab brings ABL into the classroom and trains high school students how to teach writing workshops for kindergarteners and third-graders. “The positives of cross-age mentoring,” says Gorham, “are undeniable.”
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On an international scale, Gorham is a founding member and director of the Bread Loaf Teacher Network’s Peace Literacy Network. Organized by ABL alumni, the collective brings adults and youth together at sites across the globe to strengthen their communities through writing and the arts. “ABL recognizes that the power to transform education lies not in the individual, but in the community,” says Gorham. “When young people and adults work together in solidarity and love, we are capable of greatness.” Gorham’s commitment to youth has been lauded locally and nationally, most notably during Teacher Appreciation Week in 2014 by Arne Duncan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Education under President Obama.
ABL SHAPES THE FUTURE
Helping ‘NextGen’ grow and thrive How can we help underserved communities fight systems of oppression and work for social change? “Educate and empower their youth—and then network them with other empowered youth across the country,” says ABL Director Lou Bernieri. “And that is exactly the goal of NextGen.” ABL is a founding member of the Bread Loaf Teacher Network’s Next Generation (NextGen) project, which is managed by Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English and funded by the Ford Foundation. Four ABL writing leaders from Lawrence, Mass., were among the 24 students chosen nationally for the project’s inaugural cohort. “NextGen youth are leaders, researchers, and story tellers who are working together to heal the world they’ve inherited,” explains ABL writing leader Amaryllis Lopez. The remarkable ethnic and geographic diversity of the network—with teams in Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Navajo Nation in Arizona, South Carolina, and Vermont—gives youth the opportunity to discover commonalities and work intentionally across differences. The members of NextGen’s six social action teams serve as allies, resources, policymakers, and leaders in their schools, community organizations, and local institutions. They also organize national conferences to further their educational and social justice agendas and build relationships that are key to long-term partnerships. In just two years, the NextGen cohort in Lawrence swelled from four to 30 youth. More than 100 additional
“
There are too few spaces in this world that truly value youth experiences, voice, and agency. That’s why ABL and NextGen have been so integral to my growth.” Amaryllis Lopez, ABL Assistant Director A native of Lawrence, Amaryllis Lopez started in ABL as a fifth-grader and has been a writing leader since 2013— excellent training for her role as a NextGen youth coordinator under the Ford Foundation’s grant. She is an ABL summer workshop director, program director at Elevated Thought (an ABL community partner), college student, and poet whose work explores social justice and Afro-Latinx identity.
teens are working on programs organized by the team. 9
A private school with a public purpose
500+
$0
Teachers have attended
Cost to attend
ABL’s summer writing workshop
ABL workshops and programs
Phillips Academy’s four educational outreach programs—Andover Bread Loaf, (MS)2, the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers, and PALS—have long served as resources for students and teachers locally, nationally, and worldwide.
1,500+ Students participate in ABL programming and community events each year
18
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ABL’s Lawrence, Mass.,
Peace Literacy
collective
Active partners in
Network conferences
98%
hosted by ABL
ABL writing leaders
100+
who report going on
Phillips Academy and
to college
Lawrence High School students help lead ABL activities annually
Andover Bread Loaf Phillips Academy 180 Main Street
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