Steve Dolan, SDSU Media Relations Specialist
T. 619-594-4298
E. sdolan@mail.sdsu.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN DIEGO, Monday, Jan. 14, 2002 - It will be lights, camera, action - and lots of poetry - at Pershing Middle School in 2002, as a $20,000 grant from the California Arts Council is used for an extended and intensive series of poetry workshops in all 32 English classrooms. The project will be documented in a videotape produced by a San Diego State University film crew, and at least one internationally acclaimed poet will participate.

The project is being funded by the Arts Council in the form of a grant to the Border Voices Poetry Project, which selected Pershing for one of the most innovative literacy projects in the nation.

"This is an opportunity for us to develop and try out new methods of teaching poetry, as well as to test the theory that poetry's focus on the power of words and phrasing enhances reading and writing skills. We believe the design of this project will increase student self-esteem and engagement in learning," said Jack Webb, director of the Border Voices Project as well as an editor with The San Diego Union-Tribune, a co-sponsor. "There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that poetry is beneficial in the classroom, and there have even been a few studies documenting those positive results. But no one until now has taught poetry in every classroom in a school, using a variety of different methods, and then evaluated the results."

"Pershing teachers are eager to begin this work," said Principal Sarah Sullivan. "Imagine what this will mean to our students. Every child will receive a quality two-week experience working directly with their teacher and a poet in a writers' workshop. We expect that poetry will come alive as never before for these young people. This is a chance of a lifetime!"

The workshops will take place between January and March this year, but the project actually started weeks earlier, as Border Voices poets Jim Milner and Jill Moses collaborated with district and school personnel in developing a new writing workshop model based on the latest writing instruction research.

Approximately half of the Pershing workshops will be based on this new model, with the remainder using previously developed Border Voices lesson plans. The team of Border Voices poets and district and school personnel will also create assessment models including pre- and post-workshop writing samples that assess the use of vocabulary and language conventions, attitude surveys, and teacher observation journals.

There will be 10 workshops in each of the 32 classrooms. On April 26, things will get even more exciting as one of the poets contracted to perform at the annual Border Voices Poetry Fair makes a special appearance at Pershing to discuss creative writing. The school has a stellar lineup to choose from. Appearing at the fair - which will be held April 26-27 at San Diego State University - will be Dr. Maya Angelou, Hispanic poet Gary Soto, U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins, Marilyn Chin and Jane Hirshfield.

Pershing students will also be invited to read their poetry on-stage at the fair. All of these activities will be filmed by an SDSU crew led by Professor Mark Freeman of the School of Communications, with GATE resource teacher Chris Dickerson acting as on-site producer.

Border Voices has taught poetry in hundreds of classrooms throughout San Diego County since 1993. It also prints an annual anthology of student poetry, features major poets interacting with local students on its TV series on ITV, and has brought famed writers ranging from Adrienne Rich and Philip Levine, to Gary Snyder and Ireland's Eavan Boland to San Diego to interact with students. Its partners include the Union-Tribune, San Diego City Schools, San Diego State University, California Poets in the Schools, the County Office of Education, and numerous other local and state institutions.

San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, SDSU has grown to offer bachelor's degrees in 78 areas, master's degrees in 61 areas and doctorates in 13. SDSU's more than 33,000 students participate in academic curricula distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information log on to www.sdsu.edu.

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