Poets-in-the Schools » Program Overview

Poets Mentoring Students…

• Poets in the Classroom: Poets work directly in classes with students and teachers. The poets visit each Language Arts (English or Creative Writing) class at least three times a semester. We also are placing poets in math, New Mexico History and ESL classes. This is the core component of Poets-in-the-Schools.
• Collaborative Planning: English teachers and the CultureNet team participate in planning prior to and after the school year. However, planning and communication between teachers, poets and staff is an ongoing process throughout the school year. Poets also participate in training and program orientation prior to the start of the school year.
• Poetry Clubs: PITS provides chaperoned after-school and off-campus activities for interested student writers.
• Public Readings and Slams: Increasingly, students who work with Poets-in-the-Schools participate in public readings and slams in local coffee houses, youth centers and, even, pizza parlors.

Poets Mentoring Teachers…

CultureNet conducts the following in-service workshops for teachers:

• Teaching Poetry Effectively: Poets work directly in classes with students and teachers. The poets visit each English class three times a semester. This is the core program component.
• Teaching Effectively in Multilingual Learning Environment: This course provides teachers the educational theories and methods to serve English Language Learners in the classroom. Teachers learn what specific methods they can use in their classrooms to foster second-language students’ English acquisition, accessibility of core-content curriculum, and literacy development.