Writers’ Rooms
826LA Writers’ Rooms are on-campus spaces dedicated to celebrating and honing students’ writing and literacy skills. Brightly decorated, with comfortable seating and framed student work on the walls, they’re classroom-sized versions of 826LA. Students get help with personal statements for college, work on writing assignments, or just hang out. 826LA staff collaborates with teachers to develop engaging projects, and trained volunteers work with students one-on-one, reducing student-to-teacher ratios.
In 2013, we opened our very first Writers’ Room at Manual Arts Senior High School, located in South Central LA. We celebrated the opening of our second Writers’ Room in 2019 at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights. A third Writers’ Room is in the works!
As the focus of our In-Schools programming has shifted to Writers’ Rooms, we have gradually scaled back our work with other high schools. We currently serve four schools and are not taking on new partnerships at this time. If you are an educator who is interested in having 826LA volunteers help your students with writing projects, please see 826LA’s Field Trips opportunities.
826LA Writers’ Room students from Manual Arts High School and the Class of 2020 share their vision of the future.
College Access
A college education remains one of the most reliable means to break out of poverty. Yet the resilience and creativity that students cultivate when facing economic and cultural adversity are often not reflected in grades and test scores. The personal statement is a student’s chance to level the playing field by putting their strengths on paper. In addition to our work in Writers’ Rooms and schools, and our personal statement Field Trips, 826LA hosts two major events aimed at improving college access in under-resourced communities.
Great Los Angeles Personal Statement Weekend
At this two-day event, more than 200 students work one-on-one with a volunteer for five hours to craft and complete personal statements to use for admission to UC, Cal State, and private colleges. All volunteers attend the three-hour 826LA College Essay Training beforehand, a training that has been developed by college admission officers, college counselors, and 826LA staff over the past fourteen years.
Scholarship Day
In the spring, students from partner schools are invited to adapt their personal statements for scholarship application essays, with individualized support from volunteers. Students use 826LA’s Scholarship Day Guide, which lists local and diverse scholarships that reflect students’ identities and academic interests.
Publishing
The Young Authors’ Book Project
Each year, 826LA partners with one Los Angeles public school to create a beautifully composed, impeccably designed collection of student writing. Over the course of a semester, students research, write and edit pieces for inclusion in a book with the support of volunteers. They celebrate with a release party in the spring. Browse past publications here.
What Volunteers Do in In-Schools
In-Schools volunteers spend time in Writers’ Rooms and at other sites we serve to work one-on-one with high school students as they work on creative writing or curriculum-based assignments, craft their personal statements, or draft essays for the Young Authors’ Book Project. Volunteer commitments can be as short as one class period or as long as several months. Learn more at a Volunteering 101!
For questions about Writers’ Rooms and In-Schools programming, email LaTesha Knighten.