Project Proposal
Financial support from the Central High Foundation will allow select students to participate in a writing workshop lead by Paul Volponi, an author of over 20 books, who conducts writing workshops all over the United States that encourage students to start their own journeys as readers and writers.
Amount Funded: $750
“Thanks to the Foundation, our students experienced personalized instruction and feedback. Students at all levels were engaged, challenged, and held to high standards. It was powerful to see all students share ideas, knowing their experiences and perspectives were valued.”
Jennifer Kawecki, CHS Librarian
60 Students Impacted
Commitment to Closing the Opportunity Gap
Many students are coming to school with reading and writing skills below grade level. In an effort to help students improve their literacy skills, Central High is actively trying to narrow these gaps through traditional methods such as offering intensive reading instruction during the school day; however, creative approaches, such as Volponi’s visit, are also in play. CHS Librarian, Ms. Jennifer Kawecki commented that Volponi was “magical.” Rather than lecturing, he guided students through a workshop. He got to know students’ names, worked with them one-on-one, and gave them an opportunity to share their writing with the group. “He reminded them that they are all writers and thinkers,” said Kawecki. CHS English teacher, Mr. Wayne Reynolds commented that, “New Yorkers offer a completely different energy that can’t be found anywhere else in the country. So, it was a treat to have him teach a lesson and guide students into an exercise that challenged their creativity, speech and writing skills.”
Translation to College and Career Readiness
A single experience, a shift in thinking, an inspirational teacher, or a great story can shift the trajectory of a student’s life. When Volponi spoke to students at CHS, he shared his own experiences as a student who hated reading and writing; he recounted his career as a journalist, a teacher, and a mentor. He spoke of his teaching experience at Riker’s Island and a drug rehabilitation facility where he inspired the teens he worked with and showed them how to turn experience into literature, just as he had. While working with English classes at Central, he tailored his lesson on dynamic characters to fit with what the students were learning in class, emphasizing how life and literature work together.
“Paul really impacted me because he showed me that a teacher can change a student’s perspective on things and can light up their dreams. He hated to read and write, and his teacher showed him a movie from a book that inspired him. He switched on a light inside me to write a book of my own. I keep a notebook with some of my writings in it now.”
Kortez Glover, Class of 2029