For young people, “having their creative work recognized while still in school can be the impetus they need to be lifelong creators, makers, and leaders,” said Virginia McEnerney, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

At Mackintosh Academy-Boulder, we have spent the past several years committed to developing our writing program. In addition to professional development for teachers, which translates into more enriching classroom experiences for students, we invest in bringing in published authors to educate and inspire the students. This year we’ve hosted N. Griffin and Laurel Snyder—next week Claudia Mills will meet with the 3^rd graders, and, in May, Jennifer Chambliss Bertman will be on campus. Next year, so far, we have Nathan Hale scheduled to visit in September. Past visiting authors include Laurie Halse Anderson, Deborah Wiles, Steven Sheinkin, and T.A. Barron.

One of the main questions students ask visiting authors is, “How do you get published?” We know that writing for a specific purpose (getting published!) can help motivate students to want to take their writing to a new level—to help them see the value in all stages of the writing process. Supporting students in learning to effectively express themselves creatively is a primary goal of our writing program.

We have worked to find and create opportunities for students to “publish” their writing. The process of submitting work is a tremendous “writing for an authentic purpose” experience itself. Middle school students are either required or strongly urged to submit their work to an outside-the-school contest or publication. Students in all grades at Mack have the opportunity to submit work to our in-house publication, Carvings in the Apple Tree.

Last year, two 8^th graders submitted work to The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and received Honorable Mentions. Over 330,000 7^th-12^th graders submitted work that year. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is “the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition initiative for creative teens … The Awards have fostered creativity and talent since 1923 for millions of students and feature a notable list of alumni including: Stephen King, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Sylvia Plath, Charles White, Kay WalkingStick, Ken Burns, John Baldessari, Mozelle Thompson, Joyce Carol Oates, Hughie Lee-Smith, Robert Redford, Zac Posen, and Lena Dunham.” This year, four 8^th graders received recognition for poetry they submitted to The Scholastic Art & Writing Contest: Toby and Jonah earned Honorable Mentions for poetry, and Fiona and Keira both won Silver Keys for their poems.

Hank, a 7^th grader, entered the Flash Fiction Contest held by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Affiliate-Metropolitan State University of Denver. He won 2^nd place in the 6^th-8^th grade division.

“River of Words is a poetry and art competition for students in grades K-12, implemented by Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book in affiliation with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, on the theme of watersheds and the environment designed to help youth explore the natural and cultural history of the place they live, and to express what they discover in poetry and visual art.” Tate Browder, another Mack 7^th grader, was awarded 1st place in Colorado’s River of Words competition for his poem, The Pond. 

Kestrel, a Mack 4^th grader, submitted her Dragon Story on behalf of her class to the “Mrs. P’s Be-A-Famous-Writer Contest”—it achieved Honor Roll status!

“Encouraging (students) to utilize art and writing to express their hopes, dreams, and questions about the world has multiple and meaningful benefits. The collective output of these young innovators creates a portrait in time of our American identity and, for the (students), it reinforces the positive habits that come from creative self-expression,” said McEnerney.

We agree and will continue to teach, encourage, and support our young writers.