This section includes voices from the OST field that describes practices with children and youth. It includes guest blogs, vlogs (video blogs), photo essays, and narratives by practitioners reflecting on lessons and learning in the area of language and literacy in the out-of-school time.
We accept submissions from practitioners in the OST field. For more information about submitting your work, contact our executive editor Molly Bloom.
Explore & Download These Resources
Educational Video Center’s New Media Arts-Youth ReMixing History
This photoessay describes an innovative program that is a collaboration between Educational Video Center, The New York City Writing Project, and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreations RecYouth program. An afterschool program that focuses on media literacy, it also prepares high school students for college and a career in digital media arts — granting them high school and early college credit.
A Book Club for Youth Workers Only?
This photo-essay describes a book club for youth workers to enhance their own reading abilities as well as to learn strategies to engage their students with reading in creative ways.
Eating Our Words: Writing About Family, Migration, and Grandma’s Black-Eyed Peas.
Deep Center, a youth program in Savannah, Georgia, hosted an event that went to the heart of how they use creative writing and storytelling as a tool for youth learning, leadership, and community celebration. Savannah’s young authors invited their family members and community chefs to write, eat, and talk about how their favorite foods reflect the ways their families came to Savannah.
Integrating Literacy into the Arts
The Coalition for Hispanic Family Services Arts and Literacy After School and Summer Program builds literacy in the widest sense of the word through visual arts, music, theater, dance, photo/video, yoga, and martial arts projects.
Learning Inside an Out-of-School Newsroom
By Elisabeth (Lissa) Soep, PhD, research director and senior producer at Youth Radio.
Literacy and Service Learning
New Settlement Apartments’ Bronx Helpers program empowers youth to be part of positive community change through project based learning.
Reading Everywhere Program Demonstrates the Value of Reading
Literacy Inc. (LINC) is an early literacy organization dedicated to spreading the joy of reading throughout communities across New York City.
Salsa Scholars: Getting Kids Moving, Reading and Writing!
Good Shepherd Services is a New York City nonprofit serving about 2,700 K-8th graders through 27 afterschool programs located in low income communities in Brooklyn and the Bronx.
