Embedded Files
Here at 826NYC, we offer a variety of programs for you to get involved with! Read on to learn about any and all of them, both student facing and non-student facing.
Students read & write stories and receive literacy and creative support from volunteers. Once a week, students will read a book together and have a Book Club, followed by some team-building activities. On the other day of the week, students will focus on the conventions of writing and write on a specific theme or genre the class is exploring!
This program is held Mon-Thurs, in person at our Park Slope Center. We ask that volunteers commit to two months of sessions for consistency & to build relationships with students.
Teachers from across the five boroughs bring their classes on weekday mornings to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. for a one-day writing project. Sign up here!
This program happens on weekday mornings from 10:00am-12:30pm. Volunteers can get involved illustrating stories after they've been written, bind student books to take home, or playing our cranky fictional editor, Dr. Mildew!
Workshops allow students to dive into a specific genre or topic, ranging from song writing, advice columns, and creating a tour of their own neighborhood!
Workshops are on a weekly basis on weekends, and run over the course of a 5-week session. We ask that volunteers commit to 3-5 sessions for the same workshop. All Write Away Workshops are in-person!
Teachers invite 826NYC teaching artists and volunteers to their schools to lead writing projects in their classes.
These projects usually occur on weekdays. Volunteers ideally commit to the entirety of a project, usually 4-6 sessions.
Our Teen Writers' Collective is a small cohort of our teen students that are given space to be creative and express themselves. They also have the opportunity to support their younger peers' creative endeavors through writing and publishing.
Teen Writers' Collective meets on Friday evenings. Volunteer mentor shifts take place 2-3 times a semester, where mentors work one-on-one (or in a small group) with teens on a specific piece of writing.
Dungeons & Dragons & Writers
Dungeons & Dragons & Writers
Dungeons & Dragons & Writers is a small cohort of our students that go on a mythical quest as a class, then write about their fictional adventures in journal entries, histories, and more.
Dungeons & Dragons & Writers meets in-person on Sundays. Love D&D, or always wanted to learn more? Join us on the students' journey!
Measuring Impact in Our Programs
Measuring Impact in Our Programs
What kind of data do we collect and why?
What kind of data do we collect and why?
Writing Skills
Writing Skills
WHAT: Since 2016, we have used a rubric called the Analytic Writing Continuum to assess 826 students' writing skills. We currently use the rubric for our Write After School and Young Writers Publish programs.
WHY: The 826 network saw the need for an objective assessment tool that speaks to gains in writing abilities.
HOW: The tool provides a holistic score and scores on six attributes for each piece of student writing: Content, Structure, Stance, Sentence Fluency, Diction, and Conventions. By scoring and comparing pre- and post-samples of 826 student writing, the tool provides a measurement of growth in writing skills.
RESULTS: Scoring from a selection of 826 student writing from across the national network showed significant increases in writing skills, with holistic scores increasing an average of 16% between two drafts.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
WHAT: In 2017, we began to administer a new socio-emotional learning pre-assessment to students in our After-School Tutoring program.
WHY: Holistic growth of student success and self-image is difficult to measure and this tool allows us to investigate a wide range of capacities that contribute to positive student development.
HOW: Students, volunteers, and programs staff complete extensive pre- and post-surveys that measure six SEL capacities: contribution, academic self-efficacy, positive identity, social capital, self-management, and social skills.
RESULTS: In the past year, 75% of our after-school tutoring students made measurable gains in one or more SEL capacities. We will be using these outcomes to re-envision the focus of our programs and the tools we provide to volunteers.
Program Satisfaction
Program Satisfaction
WHAT: We administer standardized 826-wide pre- and post-surveys to students (and when relevant parents/guardians and teachers) in all five of our core programs.
WHY: We use this data to exhibit program satisfaction from multiple stakeholders and pull qualitative data for fundraising, outreach, marketing, and training purposes.
HOW: These surveys focus on student confidence and enjoyment of writing as well as anecdotal experiences with our programs.
RESULTS: The data we receive from students, parents/guardians, and teachers are all consistently positive. 95% of students felt they could be creative and try new things! 93% of students agree that they had opportunities to explore their ideas and interests! 100% of parents agree that their student felt proud about their work with 826!
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