STORY NO.

11

Word Street

Our plan

Word Street's goal is to provide free reading and writing services to Pittsfield-area youth, while giving students a place to work and study. Word Street is a drop-in tutoring and literary arts center in downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It provides a supplemental educational environment that encourages creativity and enhances the reading and writing skills of learners in Pittsfield and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

What we did

Word Street began as an after-school writing program in classroom A119 at Lee Middle & High School. The students loved writing so much that Word Street founder Frank Tempone decided to establish a permanent writing center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. At first, Word Street was located in the local public library, but an unexpected groundswell of public support allowed Word Street to expand its services into a local middle and elementary school. In May 2004, Word Street found itself with its own location after a local arts organization, the Storefront Artist Project, offered them a rent-free space at 163 North Street. Today Word Street has a volunteer staff of about thirty dedicated writers and teachers who love working with young people. The Writing Center has a library, a hi-speed internet computer lab, quiet, comfortable spaces to work and study, and a publishing center where young people can discover their voices and develop a lifelong love for language and literature. The center offers drop-in tutoring to students Monday-Thursday and also hosts events to encourage reading and writing in the community.

Our results

Students get their work published, receive help with their homework, and are better prepared for school. The community has a center around which they can share their love of the written word and simultaneously provide academic aid to the students in the area.

Discuss this story

Add to the discussion

Your email address won't show up with your comment.

*required fields
  • *
  • *
  • *
Security message (please type the word below)
simple_captcha.jpg
Get Adobe Flash player

Close X

Minyoung Huh
Kensington, CA