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When a spring storm shook 45 Wrexham’s windows, Master of Fine Arts in Writing candidates and Yonkers middle school students did what many do during inhospitable weather: they swapped stories. “It’s our last class,” said Sarahi Ruiz, 12, a student at Yonkers School 14. “It’s been fun meeting other students and the teachers. I liked making new friends and playing with words.”
They gathered thanks to a collaboration between The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College and Yonkers Public Schools. Since 2007, The Writing Institute has coordinated teen writing workshops — five-week courses for middle and high school students to collaborate with writers and learn more about the craft.
“Middle and high schools in Yonkers each nominate two students to attend,” said Courtney Gillette, director of the Writing Institute. “We typically have four workshops per year with a maximum of 60 students each year.”
For many middle school students, it’s the first time they’re exposed to creative writing and how much fun it can be. “My favorite activity was when we went outside and wrote about each sense,” said Elena Mari, an eighth grader at School 30. “Our teachers showed us how to think about images and detail.”
The small class size of the workshops — eight to 15 students per group — is also often a first. “It’s very comforting,” said Michelle Cushing, 13, of Yonkers Montessori Academy. “It makes it easy to share and to listen.”
The workshops can also be a first for the MFA in Writing students who develop and lead them. Many hope to teach writing, and working as a teaching artist for the Writing Institute is one of the many paid opportunities available to them.
MaKenzie Copp MFA ’24 started last spring as a teaching artist. “My end goal is to teach, and there’s no way to experience teaching without jumping in head first.” At the beginning, Copp prepared herself to motivate the students — or to simply make peace with sullen teen energy. But she was pleasantly surprised.
“The students took everything seriously, and the quality of their work was astounding. It helped my own work.” Copp and her co-teacher impressed on their students that they were all dedicated writers, gathered because they love the same thing. They encouraged their students to attend community events, such as SLC’s Poetry Festival, the largest open, student-run poetry festival in New York. One student read at the open mic night at the festival, and many others continued exploring their writing by attending Writers Week, an immersive weeklong experience with creative writing and the performance arts.
Jaylene Anderson ’25 participated in her first workshop during her freshman year of high school in 2016. “Writing has been my passion since kindergarten. The workshop gave me tools to understand my characters and give helpful feedback.” Anderson loved it so much she took two more workshops before graduating from high school in Yonkers. She then attended Sarah Lawrence for college. “The workshops helped me decide I wanted to be here. I got familiar with the school and felt at home in the community.” Anderson will graduate next May with a combined BA and MSEd in the Art of Teaching.
The weather during the final middle school workshop meant participants could not go outside to consider a tree, but they could share pretzels with their new friends. And they could and did share their words and what they liked. “The writing workshop gave me a foundation for understanding myself and developing creative expression,” said Anderson. “And the confidence to keep going, to keep writing.”
“Our goal with the workshops, with all of the teen programs, is to empower them, to show them they have a voice,” said Gillette.
The next writing program for teens will be Writers Week, and registration is now open for the virtual session starting July 15 and the on-campus session starting August 5. Scholarships are available for a limited number of Yonkers Public School students.