Partner Organizations and Programs
Amsterdam Nursing Home
Amsterdam Nursing Home is a fulltime residence for elderly adults located on Amsterdam Avenue in Morningside Heights. The CA/T writer-in-residence creates a syllabus tailored to the needs and requests of the home's residents. The class size ranges from four to ten people and meets weekly; depending on student interest, the class syllabus may include other writing genres such as letter writing, biography, and journals, as well as discussions of literature, photography, and painting to help students access memories and find ways to express these memories in writing. The goal of this course is to provide a stimulating environment for residents who might not read or write due to physical limitations.
Columbia University Summer Program for High School Students
http://www.ce.columbia.edu/hs/writingDivision.cfm
The Summer Program for High School Students is offered every July at Columbia University. CA/Ts teach seminar and workshop classes to motivated juniors and seniors from around the country. These classes expose students to all phases of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Pieces of literature, produced by professional writers as well as participating students, provide the foundation for discussion of issues of craft, form, and literary tradition. Teachers are required to hold office hours and assist students with their electives. Electives in the past have been: Independent Study (teachers work one on one with students to help them complete a manuscript), Publishing House (teachers help the students produce a literary journal to showcase students' work), and Literary Creativity In Action-The Word Off the Page (teachers discuss oral reading strategies and techniques).
Community Impact
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ci/
Community Impact is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving disadvantaged populations in Morningside Heights, Harlem, and Washington Heights. Community Impact strives to advance the public good by fostering meaningful opportunities for students, staff, and faculty of Columbia University in order to provide high-quality programs and instill the importance of life-long service. CA/Ts work in the Jobs and Education Empowerment Project (JEEP), which helps adults earn their General Education Degree (GED) and non-native speakers improve their English communication through English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
Double Discovery Center
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/college/ddc/
The Double Discovery Center is located on the Columbia campus in Lerner Hall. Double Discovery is a not-for-profit youth service agency serving nearly 1,000 low-income, first-generation, college bound, middle and senior high-school students living and attending school in New York City. Double Discovery Center serves students who are at-risk for not completing high school or ever entering college. The Center offers year-round academic, career, college, financial aid and personal development services and aims to increase rates of high school graduation, college entrance, and college completion. CA/Ts teach during the Saturday program and have developed writing classes such as: writing in response to culture events, building the college essay, composition & literature, and understanding the media.
INTRO
Introduction to Creative Writing (INTRO) is a program of non-credit classes taught by CA/Ts to undergraduates from Columbia College, Barnard College, and the School of General Studies. INTRO classes are offered in four-week sessions, several times a year, in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama. Students conceive of and complete one piece of writing, such as a poem, an essay, or a story. In-class writing exercises aid in the conception and revision of the pieces, which are discussed in a workshop format by the class. INTRO courses are designed to familiarize students with the workshop process and prepare them for work in the Undergraduate Creative Writing Program.
John A. Reisenbach Charter School
http://www.thelearningproject.org/schools_reisenbach.htm
The Reisenbach Charter School, at 117th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd. in Harlem, is a free, public school serving boys and girls in grades 2, 3, 7, and 8. A majority of RCS students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches due to high poverty. RCS students boast a high attendance rate, competitive national achievement scores, and a commitment to the school's culture of respect, responsibility, and excellence. CA/Ts tutor and teach a variety of arts classes including writing, theater, and visual art.
Manhattan Country School
http://www.manhattancountryschool.org/
Manhattan Country School is a private elementary and middle school, committed to maintaining ethnic, racial, and economic diversity among its student population. Students at MCS select one elective course every trimester. In the CA/T elective, students produce in-class writing through poetry and fiction exercises. The final few weeks of the course are devoted to the creation of a literary journal that showcases student work. Copies are distributed throughout the MCS community. CA/Ts can also provide weekly assistance to the sixth grade teacher at MCS during the class's Tuesday Language Arts lesson.
Narrative Medicine
Website: http://www.narrativemedicine.org/
Through a partnership between CA/T and the Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons, CA/Ts teach writing to members of the Columbia medical community. Offerings include a 6-week writing workshop for 2nd year medical students, which fulfills their humanities requirement; a month-long writing elective for medical students in their 4th year; and a salon for students and physicians seeking a community for sharing their writing. Future partnerships with Narrative Medicine will focus on writing around the healthcare work of medical students and professional healthcare providers.
New York Public Library (Teen Poetry Workshop)
http://www2.nypl.org/home/branch/teen/index.cfm
This weekly poetry workshop is a CA/T collaboration with the New York Public Library and is designed for students between 12-18 years old. These classes range in size from four to eight people and are held at the New York Public Library Morningside Branch located on 2900 Broadway. Students engage in a number of activities and exercises created to widen their notions of poetry and how it can be useful in their daily lives.
Teachers & Writers Collaborative
Teachers & Writers Collaborative is a nonprofit organization that believes practicing writers make strong writing teachers. Teachers & Writers offers ten-week teaching residencies for elementary, middle, and high school students in New York City Public Schools. They specialize in hands-on workshops in poetry, fiction, playwriting, literary and personal essay, memoir and journal writing, multicultural literature and writing, theater improvisation for problem solving, content-area writing, and children's literature. CA/Ts are assigned as interns with Teachers & Writers master teachers.