Outreach

K-12 Literacy Programs

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Working collaboratively with partners outside of the university, we exchange ideas and develop programs with the primary goal of improving writing. The programs below represent the heart of CSTW's literacy outreach work:

• Africentric Elementary: School Literacy Program
• Africentric Middle School E-Newspaper Project
• Linden McKinley High School Literacy Program
• Summer Writing Camp
• See photos of Literacy Programs

Columbus Africentric Elementary School:
Young Writers and the Power of the Pen

How does it feel to be the author of your own book at age 10? Students in grades 3 through 5 at Columbus Africentric Early College Elementary School think it's pretty special. Their parents and teachers see visible evidence of after-school tutoring and know each book represents improvement in reading and writing skills. Mentored by Ohio State tutors, the young students work after class to write and revise poetry, letters, and fiction and nonfiction stories. At an end-of-year ceremony, students receive a compilation of their work and read their favorite writing pieces.

The program, which began in the year 2000, is designed to help students improve their writing abilities and meet the requirements of state proficiency tests. The Africentric literacy program is made possible by the generous support of our local donors and grant funders.

Columbus Africentric Middle School E-Newspaper Project: Newspaper Journalists on the Rise

In the summer of 2008, CSTW launched its first summer outreach project at Africentric Early College Middle School. Together four CSTW outreach consultant/instructors worked with 17 to 20 students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grader to produce four issues of an e-newspaper publication called The Nubians Info. Funding came from the Justice Paul W. Brown Fund established by Susan Brown, OSU alumnus.

• Nubians Info, Volume 1 Issue 1
Nubians Info, Volume 1 Issue 2
Nubians Info, Volume 1 Issue 3
Nubians Info, Volume 1 Issue 4

CSTW staff were on site at Africentric for five weeks Monday through Wednesday during 5th period after lunch. These contributing young journalists wrote about themselves, social change issues, hip hop narratives with a message, and editorials about local events and people around the world. They also learned the basics of news writing and file management. Africentric Middle successfully conveyed ideas of self-expression, community solidarity, and critical thinking.

Linden McKinley High School:
Establishing a Student-driven Onsite Writing Center

"Helping other students understand their writing better makes the tutor feel good, and it helps the tutor learn," says Patience Osei, a student tutor at the OSU-Linden-McKinley High School Writing Center. What began as a series of monthly writing workshops with CSTW outreach consultants grew into a blossoming onsite writing center. Now high school students provide the feedback that increases other students' investment and confidence in critical thinking, reading, and writing.

The Writing Center will (1) assist students with all facets of writing, including brainstorming, composing, organizing, and revising, (2) allow interested students to be trained as effective peer writing tutors, and (3) increase student investment and confidence in critical thinking, reading, writing, and peer tutoring.

The OSU-LMHS Writing Center opened in November 2006 and is supervised by the LMHS English Department Chair and Outreach Consultants. In 2006-2007, Barnes & Noble Booksellers at the Lennox Town Center/Regional Office donated resource books in support of the Writing Center project. In 2007-2008, a generous grant from the Seimer Family Foundation has facilitated the continued growth of the Writing Center.

See photos of Africentric and Linden McKinley programs.

Summer Writing Camp:
Serving Tomorrow's College Writers Today

"[The CSTW Summer Writing Camp] helped me become a better writer in school by giving me a broad perspective on the writing skills I need to be successful in college," says a high school senior. Twenty students from central Ohio high schools spend a lively week each summer on the Ohio State campus. They work individually and in groups on a variety of projects that challenge their ability to think critically, write digitally, and speak publicly. Click on the above link to listen to audio (MP3) files of the student's final oral presentations.