Community~Word Project is dedicated to helping at-risk young people become critical and creative thinkers who are prepared for the challenges and opportunities they will face in these rapidly changing times. Our classroom multidisciplinary arts residencies provide a high quality, sustained experience in the arts. We work in struggling communities in New York City, reaching young people in the one place they must be every day, the classroom.  Community~Word Project residencies, which are at the hear of our work, transform those classrooms into creative and challenging learning environments where children are not taught what to think, but how to think, where young minds are not filled, but formed.

Since 1997, Community~Word Project has helped over 10,000 young people develop the skills they must have to be successful in school and in life, through our residency program, our Teaching Artist Training and Internship Program, and Professional Development workshops for classroom teachers and after school leaders.  All of our programs are based on the believe that the individual’s life, experience, and ideas are central to the creative process; that we are stronger when we learn to work collaboratively; and that, as we all learn in different ways, a multidisciplinary approach offers many avenues for students to achieve and be recognized as successful.

Community~Word Project’s vision of how children can best learn through the arts:

• We believe every child has a unique voice, one that is stronger when joined with others. Working together on a collaborative mural or performance teaches young people leadership and problem-solving skills and how to work as a team Community~Word Project is the only NYC arts education organization that focuses on individual and collaborative arts.
• We make sure every child experiences success. Students are offered several ways of articulating their ideas: on the page, on the stage, and through visual arts, such as painting and photography. They take ownership in the residency by taking an active role in forming the curriculum.
• We know that change takes time. Community~Word Project Teaching Artists work with students every week for a full school year. We are equally committed to long-term partnerships with our schools, some dating back to 2000.
• We build community in the classroom. We ask students to draw from their personal experiences, express their fears and hopes, and support each other as they explore ways to develop themselves and their communities. They learn to speak out strongly and to listen to one another.

At-risk young people must have teachers who are prepared for the opportunities and challenges of working in struggling schools. All of our Teaching Artists are graduates of CWP rigorous Teaching Artists Training and Internship Program. Every residency has two trainees from the program assisting the Teaching Artist and classroom teacher; this creates a 6:1 student teacher ratio, so every child receives individual attention.