Mighty Writing Workshops

The only way to turn bad news like that into good news is through urgent action and innovative thinking. To that end, we’ve implemented a few hard and fast precepts at Mighty Writers: • The space belongs to the kids. Outside, the literacy crisis may rage, but inside our Mighty Writers center the mood is enlightened, optimistic and nurturing—a safe haven, a place where dreams can be articulated freely and the “yes we can” culture can thrive. We don’t look or feel like a classroom, a church basement or a poverty center either. We listen to what the kids like when we design our spaces. (There are superheroes on our walls!) Because of their input, we have a really cool look. • All our writing programs are imaginative and fun. This summer we conducted 12 workshops—from “Girl Power Poetry” to “Write Change” to a special week of writing on the legacy of Michael Jackson. This fall we added sports, memoir and comic book writing to our roster. Oh, and a workshop titled “Write Like A Ninja.” Yet for all the fun, we’re deeply committed to critical thinking, to the value in working collaboratively and the need to communicate clearly and effectively. Our Mighty Writers know that writing well requires responsibility, accountability and patience. But when you get it right, it moves you toward your goals. • We believe in results. All our writing workshops conclude with a finished product: a book filled with essays, a video, a blog, a poetry anthology or comic book. And we look at report cards. Our goal is to improve the language arts grades of our enrolled students by 25-percent.