Academy for Young Writers

The Academy for Young Writers is a small, nurturing 6-12 school in an attractive new facility. Students and teachers are on a first-name basis. Each grade has fewer than 100 students, reflecting the administration’s belief that personal relationships play a key role in learning.

Students write in all subject areas as a way to better understand material, retain knowledge and become critical thinkers, according to the school website. Most students enter 6th grade with weak academic skills and middle school test scores, particularly in math, are low. However, most students graduate from high school on time.

The school has stepped up efforts to prepare student for college, according to a Department of Education report called the Quality Review. The school has added more Advanced Placement classes and college trips and visits. It offers financial awareness and college classes that students say help them understand and prepare for the college process.

Teachers and other staff use culturally relevant topics and texts in all subject areas, the report said. For example, 6th-grade math teachers required students to use information from the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., to create a model of a coordinate plane. 


Students are encouraged to speak out and be involved in issues within the school and beyond. Young Writers has been commended for welcoming and supporting LGBT students, and extracurricular activities include a Black Lives Matter Movement as well as more traditional clubs and a few sports.

Young Writers shares its impressive building with another 6-12 school, Spring Creek Community  A downside: It is far from the nearest subway.

Special education: There are integrated co-teaching classes and some students are in small self-contained classes for part of the day. The building is wheelchair accessible.

Admissions: In recent years, the school has had room for all 6th graders who wish to attend. Priority in the high school goes to continuing 8th graders. There is some room for new 9th graders, who are selected using the educational option method designed to admit students with a range of academic abilities. (Gail Robinson, from DOE reports, November 2018)