Poetry for 1500 More Kids

For every $10 you donate to California Poets in the School (“CPitS”), one child can be exposed to the art of poetry, given the opportunity to learn from a published poet, and enabled to find their own inner voice to produce their own poems and share them with the world.

Here's the link to support CPitS!  http://igg.me/at/CPitS/x/4047592 

CPitS is a 501(c)3 organization that has provided K-12 students across more than 30 counties in California the opportunity to appreciate poetry and learn how to write their own poetry for the past 49 years.

CPitS works with published poets across California to place the poets into classrooms to work directly with students and open those students’ minds and hearts to the world of poetry.

Every year, the CPitS program enriches the lives of more than 25,000 students because:

• The academic curriculum is enhanced by teaching students about poetic forms, grammar, and literary tools like metaphors and personification (CPitS meets arts education standards adopted by the California Department of Education);
• Students are able to express their dreams and concerns in a constructive, nonjudgmental environment;
• Students realize their uniqueness and importance and build self confidence.

CPitS applies uncompromising standards to the poets it brings into each classroom, using only published poets who have undergone a rigorous training regimen.  Each “in-class” session is an hour long, and a poet will usually spend at least 5 sessions over several weeks with a particular classroom.  It costs CPitS around $75 to make each session happen.

Over the past few years, funding for CPitS has dropped, and CPitS has had to make tough decisions to pull out of classrooms in counties across the State.  Humboldt, Madera, Yolo, San Diego, and San Mateo counties have been hit particularly hard, losing CPitS poets in more than half of the schools in those counties that had been historically served.

This Campaign will put CPitS poets back into classrooms across the State.  If you can help us reach our campaign goal of $15,000, we will be able to reach 1,500 more students next year. 

Here's the link to support CPitS!  http://igg.me/at/CPitS/x/4047592 

And, thank you!!

Welcome to SCC-PitS!

Santa Clara County Poets in the Schools is the Santa Clara County home of California Poets in the Schools. 

Since its start in 1964, CPitS has grown to become one of the largest writers-in-the-schools programs in the nation, serving students K-12 in over 30 California counties, stretching from Humboldt and Siskiyou to Inyo, Mono and San Diego, in districts both urban and rural. Each year CPitS reaches thousands of classrooms, teaching in public and private schools, juvenile halls, after-school programs, hospitals and in other community settings. CPitS proudly taught its 1,000,000th student in 2011.

Our goal is to make curriculum-enriching poetry workshops available to every student in California.

• Currently CPitS reach includes 30,000 students served by 102 active poet-teachers, ranging from new MFA graduates to poets with over 25 years classroom experience.
• Our visiting poet/teachers are professional published writers who are trained in the art of teaching poetry at different age-appropriate levels. 
• Our poet/teachers affirm the cultural diversity of California by sharing its multicultural literary heritage with K-12 students. 
•  Poet/teachers are living models of an artist’s commitment to creative and imaginative use of language. 
• CPitS poet/teachers leverage new technology to reach more classroom teachers, young poets and new audiences. 
• CPitS poet/teachers reach and represent the diversity of each local community, including multilingual students.

Poetry workshops and residencies are funded by a variety of sources, including PTAs, school districts, foundations and locally-sourced community and business funds. The statewide office supports the independent contractor poet/teachers by organizing grants, providing training and technical support, networking, hosting literary events and meetings, and sharing best-practices creative writing pedagogy. Statewide poet/teachers submit exemplary student work to be published in annual poetry anthologies, beautifully edited and printed to showcase the talents, voices and diversity of today’s Californian youth.