Mission

Our mission is to foster joy, literacy, and critical thinking in children and teens from all backgrounds through creative writing. This mission is rooted in our belief that celebrating and sharing stories contributes to the building of stronger, more literate and empathetic young people and societies.

We seek to:

• Create a diverse community of young writers and high-level instructors who connect over their shared passion for ideas and expression.
• Provide young people with the creative inspiration and intellectual support that may not be available to them at school.
• Help each writer grow comfortable expressing themselves with words and cultivate or further a love of writing.
• Sustain a workshop culture in which writers hear and learn to articulate empathetic and constructive feedback from their peers and instructors.
• Dismantle historic barriers to after-school specialty programs by utilizing a no-questions-asked, honor-based sliding scale fee platform. We have never turned away a family due to an inability to pay tuition.
• Provide an open, safe, and nurturing space for young people who are highly engaged in creative and intellectual endeavors, as well as those who struggle with verbal and written expression.
• Foster social-emotional learning opportunities in areas such as self-management, social skills, and positive identity, which are linked to long-term positive outcomes such as improved academic performance, workforce readiness, and emotional wellbeing.
• Design leadership opportunities on an ongoing basis for our teens through teaching internships, off-site mentorship opportunities, strategic event planning internships, grassroots organizing, co-running public events, and more.

"The one change that most needs to happen to make American education realize its potential as an engine of opportunity and economic growth is not better math and science instruction but a writing revolution that puts language and communication in their proper place in the classroom. More out-of-school time should also be used to encourage writing, and specifically, writing workshops for the students."

National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges, The Neglected R: The Need for a Writing Revolution

See what parents, teachers, principals, and our writers have to say about Writopia!

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