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Writers in the Schools

Empowering young people to discover and develop their authentic writing and performance voices.

The 2023/24 Elementary & Middle School Year-End Reading

The 2023/24 Middle & High School Year-End Reading

"Poem" by Aisha Muse

Aisha Muse wrote this poem while a student at Dearborn Park International Elementary School with WITS Writer-in-Residence Samar Abulhassan. She read this poem to open our Literary Arts Series event with Abdulrazak Gurnah on September 20, 2022.

For the past 30 years, Writers in the Schools (WITS) has connected professional writers with K-12 public school classrooms throughout the Puget Sound region for extended creative writing residences. WITS Writers in Residence support both students and teachers in building a vibrant literary culture within their classrooms. By weaving residencies into the school day, WITS makes immersive arts engagement opportunities possible for students during their regular school day.

Goals

  • Support students in building a practice of self-expression, increasing reading and writing skills, and growing self-confidence
  • Energize teachers by offering new, enriching learning experiences
  • Provide writers with opportunities to develop pedagogical skills — and teach their craft to the next generation of writers
  • Integrate the arts into schools’ academic curriculums
  • Bring a race and equity lens to the teaching of creative writing with the goal of cultivating a sense of belonging for all, while centering students most impacted by structural racism
  • Bolster a positive learning community that amplifies and celebrates youth voices

How WITS Works

Writers in the Schools works with each school to design a residency that meets that school’s particular learning outcomes, curriculum needs, and schedule. In a typical residency, the WITS Writer-in-Residence teaches three or four classes of students once or twice a week for an entire semester. Providing students with sustained, sequential learning allows them to engage with the full arc of the writing process: brainstorming, pre-writing, drafting, revising, publishing, and performing.

Each WITS Writer-in-Residence designs lesson plans based upon the curriculum, goals, and standards of the classroom teacher. Writers are responsible for preparing and teaching the lessons, commenting on student work, and planning a culminating project such as a reading or publication. Teachers are responsible for assisting the writer with overall planning, providing an understanding of the school’s culture, and managing the classroom. They are also invited and encouraged to participate fully in, and learn from, the lessons.

We are committed to designing our creative teaching within larger learning benchmarks such as the Essential Academic Learning Requirements, Grade Level Expectations, the Writers’ Workshop, and state assessments, such as the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

Writers

Samar Abulhassan

B.F. Day Elementary School, Dearborn Park International Elementary School, Emerson Elementary School, Laurelhurst Elementary School, Mercer Middle School, Seattle World School, Wing Luke Elementary School

Meredith Arena

Lopez High School, Washington Middle School

Oliver Brickman

Hamilton International Middle School, Roosevelt High School, TOPS K-8

Karen Finneyfrock

Hamilton International Middle School, Lopez Middle School, Nathan Hale High School

Monique Franklin

Aki Kurose Middle School, Alan T. Sugiyama High School, Garfield High School, Rainier Beach High School

Danielle Hayden

Nathan Hale High School, Roosevelt High School

Amy Hirayama

Cleveland High School, Orca K-8, Washington Middle School

Rachel Kessler

Ballard High School, Evergreen High School, Garfield High School, Renaissance School of Art and Reasoning

Troy Landrum Jr.

Washington Middle School

David Lasky

Brookside Elementary School, Lafayette Elementary School, West Woodland Elementary School

Vivian Li

Leschi Elementary, Seattle World School

Ell Lin

Roxhill Elementary School

Corinne Manning

The Center School, Nathan Hale High School

Cypress Manning

Lafayette Elementary School, McClure Middle School, Roosevelt High School

Sierra Nelson

Hamilton International Middle School, Seattle Children's Hospital

Nhatt Nichols

Catharine Blaine K-8, McClure Middle School

Clara Olivo

Aki Kurose Middlle School, Mercer Middle School

Putsata Reang

Big Picture Middle School, Big Picture High School

Vincent Rendoni

Ricardo Ruiz

Cascade Middle School, Evergreen High School, Mercer Middle School

Ann Teplick

Seattle Children's Hospital

Acca Warren

Aki Kurose Elementary School, Roxhill Elementary School

Ankober Yewondwossen

Aki Kurose Middle School

WITS Rewritten

WITS Rewritten is a pilot program that provides WITS at no cost to K-12 public schools that serve students furthest from educational justice. WITS Rewritten will center these students and bring literary arts engagement opportunities into their classrooms.

95% 

of teachers agree that WITS students are proud of their writing.

90% 

of students reported a growth mindset about the quality of their writing.

I teach a self-contained special-ed ELA class with many students who are disengaged with school and have strong aversions to anything school-related. Writing poetry gave them an outlet to express their feelings while expanding their writing skills in a creative way.

— WITS classroom teacher

9 out of 10

teachers report that their partnership with the WITS writers enhances their own teaching skills and practices.

[The best thing about WITS was] how free you were writing a poem—it relaxed me and I love WITS. I would love to continue next year.

— Younger Youth Participant

[My favorite part of WITS was] presenting my work at the end. I felt confident in my poem and my writing so I faced my fear of public speaking. It ended up being fun and gave me a boost of confidence.

— Older Youth Participant

[The best thing about WITS was] that when you write a poem it feels like you are leaving your desk when really you are not.

— Younger Youth Participant

Survey results show that WITS improves students’ writing skills, invigorates the teaching of writing, and develops a growth mindset.

Ways to Get Involved

For Teachers and Principals

To discuss how WITS might work at your school or how to go about bringing WITS there, please contact wits@lectures.org. We are also available to travel to your school to talk one-on-one with you or to make a larger presentation to a group of interested teachers and administrators.

For Parents

If you are interested in bringing WITS to your child’s school, please contact wits@lectures.org to discuss the possibilities. We encourage you to bring your children to our annual public events: our WITS Year-End Readings and the Youth Poet Laureate’s Book Launch.

For Students

Love WITS and want to be involved in keeping it great? Email us at wits@lectures.org to learn about opportunities for current or former WITS students.

Internships with WITS

Internship opportunities are currently closed and will open in Spring ’25!

Seattle Youth Poetry Fellowship

Founded in 2015, the Youth Poetry Fellowship (YPF) program gives a platform to youth who care deeply about literary arts as a tool for civic engagement and change. Learn more about the program here.

 

For Community Members

  • Donate supplies. Composition books, pocket folders, art supplies, spaces and treats for our WITS Writer meetings, cupcakes for our author celebrations, goodies for the gift bags that honor our young writers at Year-End Readings, audio/visual services, in-kind printing, and beyond are welcome. The list goes on!
  • Spread the word. Speak about WITS to your friends who are teachers, who are parents, who are writers, who work at newspapers and magazines, who are supporters of the literary arts, and who are supporters of education. Tell them you support this program and that you’d like them to support it, too, in whatever way they can.
  • Come to events. Your ticket to a SAL event helps support the education program, and your presence at WITS readings expands the audience and community for our young writers. All WITS and Youth Poet Laureate readings are free and open to the public!
  • Make a tax-deductible donation. Your generosity helps make WITS possible! Your support allows WITS to serve more youth, mitigate financial barriers for schools that serve students furthest from educational justice, and appropriately compensate our WITS Writers in Residence.Click here to donate today.
  • Email wits@lectures.org for more information on how to get involved.

For Writers

Applications to join the 2024-25 WITS Writers-in-Residence corps are now closed and we will accept applications for the 2025-26 WITS writers cohort in the summer 2025.

For writers, the WITS program includes:

  • Placement in a public Puget Sound K-12 school for an extended, paid creative writing residency.
  • Ongoing professional development opportunities, including quarterly WITS Writer meetings, peer mentorship, the opportunity to participate in several individual writing residencies at no personal cost.
  • Inclusion in the Murmurations reading series, a reading by WITS Writers held four times a year, publicized by Seattle Arts & Lectures.
  • Free tickets to all SAL events throughout the season.

Books

Because Of This, I Became A Wolf

Order the 2023/24 WITS Anthology

Purchase