Our Mission
WriteBoston fosters deep learning for youth and educators. We elevate and reshape the role of literacy – writing, reading, and discussion – so that all youth think critically and can use their voice to create change.
July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022
Our world is changing—and we must, too. Education must adapt to address both longstanding inequities caused by racism and oppression, as well as new challenges created by the pandemic.
At WriteBoston, we’re committed to partnering with youth and educators so that all young people have transformative learning experiences. Below, we share our newly defined core values and how we live up to them.
In the last year, WriteBoston's work impacted...
133
students through afterschool & summer programming & community partnerships
137
educators through professional development & coaching in schools & community settings
1200+
Core Value
Youth Voice
Youth deserve spaces where their perspectives are heard—and respected. We believe this is central to their personal development and sense of agency, and we know that our communities are better when young people participate.
We live this value by centering and amplifying youth voices and by helping young people to become critical thinkers and powerful writers.
Teens in Print is an inclusive writing program for Boston youth.
Last fall, Teens in Print (TiP) stepped back to refine the program goals and model based on all we’ve learned in the pandemic. In January 2022, we re-opened our afterschool program. Students quickly settled in, forming friendships and connections with peers and staff and drawing on their curiosity and experiences to write about the world. In a year of big changes, we:
- Explored hybrid programming by introducing opportunities for students to meet in person at orientations and publication parties.
- Introduced a “challenge by choice” model that gives students room to take on more responsibility.
- Learned from our TiP Associates, seasoned TiPsters who earned a paycheck by taking on greater leadership and offering program feedback and support.
- Continued offering monetary participation awards to youth to acknowledge student effort and time.
- Launched a new website for youth writing where we published op-eds, profiles, listicles, and more.
TiP impact + highlights
218
articles published on teensinprint.com
82%
85%
“Teenagers nowadays kind of hide their feelings [and] story because they feel like they are going to be judged for it. But Teens in Print gives you the opportunity to share it out…You get paid, you get published, you get to shine in your writing, you get to meet new people, make new friends, [and] have, like, really good mentors.”
- Thao Tran, Teens in Print writer
Hear more from our students:
Core Value
We believe that literacy—reading, writing, and discussion—is empowering. Literacy-rich experiences help learners build further skills to advance their educational, personal, and community goals.
We live this value by honoring the language assets and backgrounds that young people bring. We also inspire youth and educators to use literacy in new and meaningful ways.
Professional Development and Coaching help educators transform their teaching and leadership.
This school year, educators had a tall order: reacclimating themselves and students into classrooms, teaching content, and supporting students’ social and emotional growth, all amid uncertainty.
Our instructional coaches—veteran educators skilled in supporting adult learning—adapted alongside them. By sharing new ways of thinking, strategies, and inspiration, we help educators realize greater possibilities for their students. This year, we:
- Supported the return to classrooms, helping teachers in Boston and Gateway City schools to use engaging, inclusive teaching strategies that meet student needs.
- Started a new coaching partnership with Fuller Middle School in Framingham.
- Deepened our approach to equity by supporting educators to develop mindsets and practices for anti-racist, culturally-sustaining classrooms, such as interrogating deficit thinking and supporting student voice and choice.
- Coordinated a new summer program in Worcester, offering a literacy, arts, and justice-based curriculum for middle schoolers.
Coaching Impact + Highlights
5
partner schools & programs worked with our coaches this year
79%
of educators reported deeper student engagement as a result of coaching
93%
of educators reported that coaching helped them better serve all their students
“Especially this year - being back in person and through the pandemic - this kind of teacher support has really been absolutely essential. My colleagues and I always point to [my] instructional coach and our WriteBoston partnership as being one of the most — if not the most — impactful partnerships to our actual teaching and student learning.”
- Julia, chemistry teacher at Boston International High School
Hear more from our educators:
Core Value
Transformative Learning
Powerful learning experiences are engaging, empowering, and inclusive. Our programming taps into the talents, knowledge, and identities of all learners: youth and educators alike.
We live this value through our partnerships with schools and districts, community organizations, educators, and youth.
Our Partners
In collaboration with our partners, we help educators transform their teaching and leadership practice, and we help youth to broaden their learning to become critical thinkers and powerful writers. WriteBoston has supported schools and organizations from Boston to as far as Burlington, Vermont.
Click an icon in the map below to learn more about each partner. To view the map in full screen, click the expand icon in the top right corner.
Core Value
Justice
Young people’s learning experiences should enrich their lives and equip them with the tools they need to create positive change. We honor the multiple identities and lived experiences of people.
We live this value by using learning spaces—and our organization—as sites to resist and interrupt long-standing patterns of marginalization and oppression.
Where we've been, where we're going
Over the last two years, WriteBoston has committed to using the principles of equity and inclusion to guide our programs and operations. From creating inclusive community norms to analyzing program data and updating our mission and values, we know this commitment must be ongoing and evolving. In the coming year, we will:
- Explore the implications of our new mission and values. Freshly articulated, this language helps open the door to new partnerships and program adaptations.
- Create an equitable compensation guide with an HR consultant. This project, already underway, will increase transparency and steer pay practices moving forward. We’ll also implement a performance management structure to support employee growth.
We’re excited about where our programs are heading. Our coaches will continue partnerships with three Boston Public Schools and one Framingham Public School. We’ll also launch a coaching partnership with Lowell High School and professional development series with Nantucket Public Schools and Boston Collegiate Charter School.
Our Teens in Print program kicks off the fall as a hybrid afterschool opportunity. Thanks to a new partnership with Babson College, we tested hybrid programming this summer at our six-week Summer Journalism Institute. This year, we’ll deepen opportunities for students to build community and grow their leadership skills.
As we evolve, we promise to keep youth and educators at the forefront—working to live our values each day.
Our Finances
The charts below share funds raised and used on operating activities during FY22. In addition, WriteBoston has restricted funds for use in FY23 and FY24 of $376K and board-designated reserves of $375K.
Revenue
Expenses
While expenses are presented by function, each category is core to delivering on our mission. Program services include the staffing necessary to plan, run, and evaluate programming, as well as material costs ranging from subscriptions to online education tools to stipends for student writers.
General and administrative expenses include accounting, audit, IT, insurance, and management staff time to ensure the organization is effective and efficient. Fundraising includes events, campaigns, and development staff time to maintain the resources to operate and grow our program.
