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SCHOOL PROGRAMS

California Poets in the Schools offers school-based, poetry workshops for K-12 schools throughout California.  Please contact us to learn more.

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Poetry Workshops in Schools

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Never has it been so important to foster a sense of connection and belonging amongst our youth.  Students today are dealing with extreme isolation brought on by a global pandemic, a massive racial reckoning in the Black Lives Matter movement and record-breaking, climate-change-induced wildfires forcing traumatic evacuations and blanketing the entire west coast in air too toxic to breathe.  Mental health crises are on the rise, particularly amongst adolescents.

 

Poetry instruction, whether online or in person, cultivates human connection. The act of participating in a poetry class allows young people to feel immediately less isolated and can be a powerful step in helping to overcome loneliness.  Writing poetry also increases self and societal awareness, while cultivating ownership of one’s unique voice, thoughts and ideas.  Writing poetry allows young people to contribute to the larger community dialogue on social justice, climate change and other pressing issues of our time. Sharing poetry aloud with peers can create bridges that foster empathy and understanding.

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“Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity for our existence. It forms the quality of light from which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action.”  Audre Lorde (1934-1992) 

Professional poets (Poet-Teachers) are the backbone of the CalPoets' program.  CalPoets' Poet-Teachers are published professionals in their field who have completed an extensive training process in order to bring their craft into the classroom to inspire a new generation of young writers.  Poet-Teachers aim to build interest, engagement and a sense of belonging at school (helping to keep kids in school) amongst diverse groups of students from grades K through 12.  Poet-Teachers teach a standards-based curriculum geared towards building literacy and personal empowerment through the creative process.

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Meet the Poet-Teachers!

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CalPoets lessons follow a tried and true arc that has been proven over the past five decades to elicit strong poetry from nearly every student every single lesson. This framework includes analysis of a socially relevant poem written by an acclaimed poet, followed by individual student writing where youth put into practice the techniques that were working well in the "famous poem," followed by student performances of their own writing.  Class sessions often culminate in a formal reading and/or anthology.

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Please contact us to begin the process of bringing a professional poet into your school.

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Virtual Poetry Workshops in Schools

During the Pandemic, California Poets in the Schools’ Poet-Teachers pivoted almost entirely to online instruction.  While the format changed, the powerful nature of our work continued to resonate deeply with communities across the state.  Most of our Poet-Teachers remain available for virtual classes.
 
Poetry instruction is a versatile tool that transitions well to online learning.  Poet-Teachers enter into virtual classrooms as guest artists and teach a thorough arts education curriculum that has the class interacting with and writing poetry during each and every session.  Poet-Teachers make use of digital tools to open up new pathways of learning - such as showing famous poets performing their own work, and teaching students how to make “video poems” using Adobe Spark.  
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Please contact us to begin the process of bringing a professional poet into your virtual classroom.
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