{"id":471,"date":"2023-07-17T14:07:57","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T18:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/?p=471"},"modified":"2025-11-19T14:49:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T19:49:15","slug":"writopias-longtime-partnership-with-espi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/writopias-longtime-partnership-with-espi\/","title":{"rendered":"Writopia’s Longtime Partnership with ESPI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Each July is filled with our longtime deeply meaningful and exciting partnership camps! For a decade now,  Writopia has been running a special writing arts camp for dozens of creative and fun-loving children and teens at Homes for the Homeless’ Saratoga Family Inn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting seven years ago, we began working with 20-30 wonderful and gifted tweens from low-resourced areas who are selected by The Exam Schools Initiative (ESPI) as they prepare to apply to NYC’s specialized, magnet, highly selective high schools. It is a gift to us to brainstorm and help cultivate original short stories, films, and graphic novels with all of these beautiful young people who deserve all of the enrichment, support, and inspiration in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Students in a creative writing workshop and playing games during break time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ESPI directors recently surveyed 50 of their alumni for feedback on how they may further benefit from ESPI support;  80% of them have named college essay support as a \u201ctop need.\u201d So starting this summer, we have had the deep pleasure of working with some of our former middle school ESPI students, now highly engaged college applicants. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court\u2019s reversal of Affirmative Action, equal access to college access support systems has become even more urgent.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students in the graphic novel and filmmaking electives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to ESPI Founder, Andy McCord, “For ESPI students the Writopia week is a revelation. For students who have already begun to self-identify as readers and writers the experience is a homecoming. Many of these students continue on their own with Writopia in future years on scholarship. For other students, probably a majority, who are math kids who have never liked ELA, Writopia connects their innate verbal flair with a subject that had often seemed dull and restrictive in school. Our goals are explicitly academic, in that we seek to address the “excellence gap” that keeps many Black, Latinx, and low-income students out of the pipelines to schools like Hunter, Stuyvesant, and Bronx Science, but we find that a creative approach like Writopia is essential across disciplines to build deeper motivations that can underlie achievement at high levels as our students progress through school. At an organizational level, ESPI’s partnership with Writopia has been a model.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each July is filled with our longtime deeply meaningful and exciting partnership camps! For a decade now,  Writopia has been running a special writing arts camp for dozens of creative and fun-loving children and teens at Homes for the Homeless’ Saratoga Family Inn.  Starting seven years ago, we began working with 20-30 wonderful and gifted …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletter","entry entry-center"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9aRpX-7B","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":754,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/gala-2025-takeaways\/","url_meta":{"origin":471,"position":0},"title":"Gala 2025 Takeaways","author":"Rebecca Wallace-Segall","date":"June 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Written by Rebecca Wallace-Segall, Founder and CEO, Writopia Lab In April, \u00a0Writopia Lab held its 2025 Gala. A new dynamic on our Board of Directors allowed for new ideas to flow. My heart still feels full from the entire process. Here were some exciting details and takeaways: 1) For the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_7101.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_7101.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_7101.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_7101.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":408,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/national-newsletter-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":471,"position":1},"title":"National Newsletter 2021","author":"Rebecca Wallace-Segall","date":"July 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Pictured are three of our many long-term Writopians who graduate from high school this year! Student Publication Highlights 2020-2021 Abey Weitzman won a Scholastic Silver Medal for his senior portfolio, \u201cDisability.\u201d Watch his powerful graduation speech below in which he mentions Writopia Lab.Analia Rivera had a piece accepted to Alphabet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletter"","block_context":{"text":"Newsletter","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/category\/newsletter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-10.42.39-AM-edited.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-10.42.39-AM-edited.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-10.42.39-AM-edited.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-10.42.39-AM-edited.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-10.42.39-AM-edited.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":296,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/a-message-from-our-executive-director\/","url_meta":{"origin":471,"position":2},"title":"Reflections on the 2018-2019 Year at Writopia Lab","author":"Writopia Lab","date":"June 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0This has been such an incredible school year at Writopia across the country! We served over 5,000 invigorated kids and teens in safe space, censorship-free writing workshops at our labs, in schools, in partnership with community-based organizations, and at our sleepaway camp.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Every day, we witnessed the key to effective writing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletter"","block_context":{"text":"Newsletter","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/category\/newsletter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/writopiagala-040517-226.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/writopiagala-040517-226.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/writopiagala-040517-226.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/writopiagala-040517-226.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/writopiagala-040517-226.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/writopiagala-040517-226.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":724,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/dc-end-of-year-reading\/","url_meta":{"origin":471,"position":3},"title":"Celebrating a Year of Writing with our DC Community","author":"Rita Feinstein","date":"June 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Written by Rita Feinstein, DC Regional Manager Date: Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025Location: Tenley-Friendship Library We were blown away by the turnout for our End-of-Year Reading! We invited all our young writers to share an excerpt of their work with a supportive audience of friends, family, and fellow writers. Tara Prakash,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":165,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/writopia-response\/","url_meta":{"origin":471,"position":4},"title":"In Response to The NYTimes","author":"Writopia Lab","date":"August 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Rebecca Wallace-Segall, Danielle Sheeler, and Yael Schick As literacy curriculum developers, we enjoyed the New York Times article \u201cWhy Kids Can\u2019t Write.\u201d But we were surprised by the limited view it provided into the cultural landscape of literacy education. While the writer acknowledged the importance of the synthesis of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EduPolicy"","block_context":{"text":"EduPolicy","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/category\/edupolicy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/12_literacy.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/12_literacy.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/12_literacy.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":379,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/a-lucky-few-enjoyed-writing-their-college-essays-during-the-2020-2021-admissions-season-heres-why-by-rebecca-wallace-segall-executive-director\/","url_meta":{"origin":471,"position":5},"title":"A Lucky Few Enjoyed Writing Their College Essays During the 2020-2021 Admissions Season. Here\u2019s Why. by Rebecca Wallace-Segall, Executive Director","author":"Rebecca Wallace-Segall","date":"April 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By April, the grueling 2020-2021 college admissions process will have to come to an end, with over five million high seniors finding out which colleges have accepted them during one of the most disheartening application years in decades. And just then, as the trees begin to blossom and the Covid-19\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Staff Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Staff Voices","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/category\/staff-voices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cover-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cover-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cover-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cover-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cover-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cover-copy-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":484,"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471\/revisions\/484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}