Gregory Bowman

“Middle and high school students will collaborate to create a community of learners committed to the development of student voice through youth participatory action research. Teachers will facilitate mentoring relationships with 10th and 7th grade students to engage in root cause analysis of a community issue. The students will research and create action plans for potential solutions, and they will work together to enact those plans. Students will gain overall reading, writing, and critical thinking prowess as well as increased self-efficacy with agency and voice in their schools and larger community through culturally sustaining and affirming literacy practices. In service to a more comprehensive and rigorous writing focus in our schools, we will facilitate youth participatory action research that drives social change and inspires student collaboration under the tutelage of the National Writing Project/Piedmont Voices Writing Project. Additionally, students will have opportunities to grow in self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills, and resilience strategies through several targeted community learning field experiences.”