Literacy Projects
ArtsLiteracy Project
The ArtsLiteracy Project (ArtsLit) is dedicated to developing the literacy of youth through the performing and visual arts. Based in the Education Department at Brown, ArtsLit gathers an international community of artists, teachers, youth, college students, and professors with the goal of collaboratively creating innovative approaches to literacy development through the arts.
Contact
Kurt Wootton, Director
ArtsLiteracy Project
401-863-7017
Kurt_Wootton@brown.edu
Brown Summer High School
Brown Summer High School, founded in 1968, is a four-week program that challenges students to engage their minds in tackling big questions. Courses offer students innovative learning environments where they work in small groups, participate in discussions, conduct laboratory experiments, and engage in hands-on activities. As active participants in the learning experience, students develop essential skills in reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking. Brown Summer High School draws its faculty from Brown University students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching and Undergraduate Teacher Education programs. These teachers-in-training work in teams with experienced teachers from local schools and Brown Teacher Education faculty. The program is open to students entering grades 9-12.
Contact
Carin Algava, Assistant Director
Teacher Education Program
401-863-3364
Carin_Algava@brown.edu
Community Outreach through the Performing Arts (COPA)
COPA uses the arts to build community through after-school classes at Providence Housing Authority sites. Teams of Brown volunteers teach workshops in creative writing, dance, theater, and the visual arts. With the conviction that effective teaching is an art form, volunteers work as a community of teachers and learners.
Language Arts Program
The Language Arts Program supports after-school Writing Clubs at Providence elementary schools. The program seeks to help children find joy in writing, recognize their individual talents, and develop tools of expression, initiative, and creativity.
Contact
Dilania Inoa, Literacy and School Coordinator
Swearer Center for Public Service
401-863-1024
Dilania_Inoa@brown.edu
MET Family Literacy Program
The MET Family Literacy Program, a partnership with the MET School, offers classes two evenings per week to students and parents. Classes include ESOL, GED preparation, computer literacy, and Spanish.
Contact
Howard Swearer Center for Public Service
401-863-2338
Providence Youth Council
The Providence Youth Council convenes youth leaders on a weekly basis to discuss policy issues and solutions for the city. Council members engage in action-research projects that address specific challenges facing Providence adolescents and their families. The PYC also seeks to develop communication and team-work skills of the Council members, as an investment in their future as leaders. The Council is a partnership with the Office of Mayor Cicilline and the Rhode Island Foundation.
Contact
Howard Swearer Center for Public Service
401-863-2338
SummerPrep
SummerPrep is a three-week summer enrichment program for approximately 100 urban elementary students, located at the Community Preparatory School in South Providence. Students attend the morning academic enrichment program free of charge and are enrolled in classes of up to 18 students in rising grades 2 through 6. Classes are taught by a team of two Brown MAT students who are supervised by a Mentor teacher. The curriculum developed by the MATs, with the help of Brown elementary MAT methods instructors and Mentor teachers, includes instruction in community building and leadership, literacy, math, science, performance and visual arts and physical education. Admission to the program is on a first-come, first-served basis, with students primarily coming from Providence and others from Pawtucket, Central Falls and Cranston.
Contact
Polly Ulichny, Senior Lecturer and Director of Elementary Education
Education Department
401-863-3487
Polly_Ulichny@brown.edu
Swearer Classroom Program
The Swearer Classroom Program is a literacy mentoring program in which a Brown volunteer works one-on-one with an elementary school child. The program's focus is dual: we build relationships through reading, acting on the belief that supportive and sustained work on literacy skills fosters an environment in which students feel confident in their abilities, both academic and social. Mentors work with a student for about an hour, usually once a week during the school day in the student’s classroom. We work with two schools: D'Abate Elementary in Olneyville and Asa Messer (and its annex school) in the West End of Providence.
Contact
Dilania Inoa, Literacy and School Coordinator
Swearer Center for Public Service
401-863-1024
Dilania_Inoa@brown.edu
Write Project
The Write Project offers 5-8th grade girls at Sophia Academy a student-centered, expository writing experience. The program uses small groups and one-on-one interactions to improve students' skills and confidence in writing. The role of the tutor is to listen and provide a safe forum for young writers and translate their ideas into a piece of writing appropriate to the task.
Contact
Dilania Inoa, Literacy and School Coordinator
Swearer Center for Public Service
401-863-1024
Dilani_Inoa@brown.edu
Writing Fellows Program
Undergraduate Writing Fellows at Brown are trained to engage fellow undergraduates in examining and improving their writing skills. In fall 2006, the Writing Fellows Program began an outreach effort at Hope High School to offer similar support to Hope students. Each week, volunteers from the Writing Fellows Program work with groups of 9th and 10th grade students in classrooms. This work helps Hope students improve their writing skills and supports Hope teachers in their efforts to teach writing.
Contact
Rhoda Flaxman, Director
College Writing Programs
401-863-1404
Rhoda_Flaxman@brown.edu