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College
Launches Young Writers Institute for Tenth Graders
and English Teachers in New York City Public High Schools
Includes Mentoring for Writing Clubs in Participating
Schools
 Barnard
begins a pilot writing program, the Young Writers Institute,
for 10th graders in New York City public schools on Saturday,
February 28, bringing 71 talented students and their English
teachers to campus for a day of workshops on essay-writing
and mentoring to help them create and lead writing clubs at
their schools.
Barnard invited nine city high schools to participate in the
launch of the program, with the expectation that the College
will expand the Young Writers Institute in future years
to include more schools.
The students will participate in workshops throughout the
day taught by Barnard student writing fellows and the Erica
Jong Writing Center, named for the novelist and Barnard graduate.
Through the center, undergraduate students are specially selected
and trained as writing fellows to work with their peers to
strengthen student writing across all disciplines. Writing
fellows and alumnae writers will speak on the "Power
of Writing" during a luncheon discussion. Eleven teachers
who will accompany their students will participate in workshops
on writing curriculum led by Pamela Cobrin, Director of the
Writing Center and faculty member of the English Department.
The program was developed to help high school students expand
both writing and leadership skills, said Suzanne Trimel, vice
president for public affairs at Barnard, which is sponsoring
the program with the Admissions Office, Dean of the College,
the Writing Fellows Program and the Education Program. "We
couldn't be more pleased by the enthusiastic response we received
in our first year. We hope this program will lead to the growth
of writing clubs in high schools throughout the city."
Professor Lee Anne Bell, director of the Barnard Education
Program, who developed curriculum for the Young Writers
Institute jointly with Cobrin, said the program will focus
on writing as key to academic success and serve as a catalyst
for the development of student writing clubs in the participating
schools. "But we hope that the program will go beyond
the utilitarian value of good writing and allow for student
self-exploration and expression," she said. "Given
Barnard's extraordinary tradition and strength in writing
the Institute is a natural addition to the existing
writing initiatives at the College."
The Institute will consist of small workshops allowing
students to explore creative thinking, reading, and writing,
along with discussion of the fears associated with the writing
process. The program will open with a close reading of
Krik? Krak!, a story collection by Edwidge Danticat, a
Barnard graduate, which will be the basis for student essays.
Each session will be limited to 10 students to maximize individual
attention. Their teachers will attend similar workshops on
new writing exercises and classroom techniques that will help
strengthen their high school programs.
"Throughout the day students will experiment with different
ways of intertwining writing with close reading and creative
thinking," said Cobrin. "Sessions with both teachers
and students will be more collaborative than hierarchical.
Participating schools are drawn from Manhattan, Brooklyn,
Queens and Staten Island, and include Bayard Rustin High School
for Humanities, Beacon High School, Curtis High School, High
School of Economics and Finance, Erasmus Hall Campus High
School of the Humanities, Fashion Industries High School,
James Madison High School, Midwood High School, and Seward
Park High School.
Jennifer Fondiller, Dean of Admissions at Barnard, noted that
the program will be valuable for college-bound students, especially
today as writing has become a focus of attention in the college
process. "Given the increasing emphasis on writing with
SATs and other testing programs, as well as the importance
of writing preparation for college, the Young Writers Institute
can help to provide early attention and mentoring for participating
students," said Fondiller.
Barnard writing fellows will continue to work closely with
the schools in setting up the writing clubs, and make two
on-site visits during the spring of 2004. The fellows will
return to the schools in the fall to help the staff restart
the clubs.
The program succeeds the College's longstanding high school
writing initiative, the Barnard Essay Contest, which each
year drew over 500 essays on the topic, "A Woman I Admire"
from juniors in city high schools during its 12-year run.
For more information, please contact: Suzanne Trimel or Petra
Tuomi in the Barnard Office of Public Affairs, 212-854-2037
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