If there’s one thing we love even as much as reading at Success Academy, it’s helping our scholars find and develop their writing voices. From elementary school onwards, our scholars practice writing every single day. Once they’ve learned to convey strong and precise ideas with clarity, purpose, and structure, they have a lifelong tool for […]

Every fall at Success Academy, our school communities become extremely excited for several not-to-be-missed events. One, of course, is the annual Halloween Parade. Another is far less commonly found in schools these days: a good old-fashioned Spelling Bee. We love our Bees because they foster determination and confidence in scholars — plus they’re fun!

In 2016, Dr. Elisa New learned about Success Academy Charter Schools. She had the opportunity to collaborate with Success through her organization, Poetry in America, which offers online courses on poetry for the general public and for English and Social Studies teachers. Lessons filmed in Success Academy classrooms now anchor key sections of her professional development courses.

In July, Success Academy Scholar Autumn Swepson traveled to Ireland with Putney Student Travel: Writing in Ireland. This unique travel experience brought together carefully selected student writers to explore the literary roots and storytelling traditions of Ireland, all while improving their own craft.

On Friday, October 7, our scholars spent an entire half day composing stories in different genres, from dystopia, to romance, to thrillers.

I was studying for my nursing exam and couldn’t be interrupted, so I told her to read a book. “I’m not reading a book,” she said. “I’m going to write one.”

This summer, Success Academy connected scholars with several experiential programs, setting up camps for students who excel in chess, basketball, and soccer and partnering with the renowned Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, where four of our middle school scholars indulged their passion for art, creative writing, and choral singing.

Four ways to take your scholar’s summer writing to the next level!

Somewhere along the way, poetry seems to have developed a reputation for being boring, old-fashioned, and impossible to understand. Sure, there are plenty of esoteric and oblique poems out there, but there are hundreds and hundreds of poems that are accessible and enjoyable for children.

We want to honor our scholars and their work, as well as the experiences that shape who they are. In that spirit, we share with you some of the poems written by middle school scholars at SA Harlem East.