District Writers' Academy’s academic writing classes are designed using an interactive, workshop-style format with a small enrollment (6-8 students). The approach is participatory with lots of hands-on exercises, games, and writing time to learn and practice skills. It reaches students who have sometimes been left behind in traditional classrooms and who learn in different ways--visual learners, auditory learners, those with ADHD.

Our courses also don't just teach kids WHAT to write. We teach them HOW to write--how to navigate the (sometimes difficult) process of writing, As writers ourselves, we know how hard writing can be and offer them pragmatic strategies to overcome writers' block, perfectionism, confusion--things every writer deals with. No more tears, drama, avoidance!

Because we encourage students to take risks, our classes do not assign grades. We do, however, provide abundant guidance and feedback to encourage and support progress.

Our students generally start seeing classroom grades improve within weeks and often feel confident enough to pursue their writing independently within 6-12 months. Our job is to teach ourselves out of a job!

Unless otherwise noted, all of our academic workshops are offered at  the Jr. (7th-9th grade) or the Sr. (10th-12th grade) level. Please contact us if you have questions about the appropriate placement for your child.