Third grade students at Red Elementary have a rare opportunity to participate in the Writers in the Schools program which focuses on creative writing. An anonymous donor came to our school willing to pay for half of the program if Red could match the offer. Thankfully, we have been able to find the funds and are now moving forward with the program. This program would not be possible without the generous gift from our anonymous donor.

We want to thank you and appreciate your commitment to Red Elementary and to our students!

Writers in the Schools (WITS) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that engages children in the pleasure and power of reading and writing. WITS writers work in year-long programs in over 350 classrooms in order to help students develop their creative and analytical thinking skills. Although our focus is on at-risk inner city students, we also offer workshops in art museums, hospitals, community centers, private schools, and juvenile detention centers. We are involved in national initiatives, such as mentoring similar writers-in-schools programs, serving as a model for multidisciplinary arts educators, and designing curricula for use in schools. Our writers also lead in-services and writing workshops for teachers. -- from the website: http://www.writersintheschools.org/

The program will have a billingual writer working directly with third grade students and teachers in their classroom once a week for several weeks. This creative writing will not focus on HISD or TAKS objectives, but will be a creative outlet for our students and professional development for the teachers.. An anthology of the students' writing will be created for the students to keep. The third grade team is very excited about this unique program. Look for published writing in the future here on our web site.