We believe arts education is empathy education. Creative writing is a tool to help us not just better understand ourselves, but others as well. During years of heightened development, writing can also be a place for young people to reflect on who they are and who they’re becoming.

We believe in creating community. The Write Room is a place where students can feel safe to explore new ideas and share their art freely. True connections can be made when students trust each other and understand that the vulnerability they bring to their work will be protected by those around them.

We believe in the positive effects of slow and focused attention. In a time when cell phones are more present than ever in our children’s lives, and college professors are seeing rising numbers of students who struggle to read full-length books, we think devoting time to discussion, slow reading, and breaking down a sentence word by word offers not just an opportunity to understand a text better, but a chance to develop healthy habits that will last our students throughout their lives.

We believe that by taking children’s work seriously, they’ll learn to take their own work seriously as well. Our creative writing workshops are run in the same style as college level writing workshops, and we also offer our students opportunities to publish their work and give public readings when possible.

We believe in creating critical thinkers. Though we do read mid-grade and YA novels, we also discuss carefully selected stories from writers like George Saunders and Shirley Jackson, and the work of poets like Ross Gay and Walt Whitman. We teach students to not simply discuss whether they like a piece or art or not, but how and why it succeeds or fails to capture a readers’ attention or appreciation.

We believe that writing can serve as a compass when navigating tough moments. Social emotional learning is a vital part of what we do, and we often help our students work through struggles and personal challenges on the page. (The Write Room consults with a therapeutic partner to make sure that the ideas and feelings being expressed in writing classes are safe and developmentally appropriate.)

We believe in the tradition of storytelling. The act of telling, reading, and hearing stories is part of what makes us most human. 

We believe in putting pen to paper in a world that increasingly relies on tech and AI. As shortcuts become more readily available for our children, we want to encourage them to take the long way, even if it takes more time, and to keep problem-solving for themselves.