- School District of Clayton
- Overview
Gallery Walk Culminates Yearlong Partnerships with Nonprofits
Clayton High School Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition students invited their parents, teachers and community partners to a presentation and gallery walk on Tuesday, April 16, in the CHS library to celebrate the culmination of their Professional Writing Partnerships program this year.
Throughout the school year, the students have been meeting monthly with representatives from six local nonprofit organizations to gain real world writing experience while helping the nonprofits engage their key audiences. The students were matched with a nonprofit of their choice, and they met in small groups with their nonprofit liaisons to develop at least one deliverable each semester. The projects ranged from press releases to brochures to letters seeking donations.
AP English Language and Composition Teacher Dr. Eric Turley developed the program as a way for his students to learn different forms of writing while helping to solve real problems within their community.
“Our Professional Writing Partnerships program is helping students become more informed citizens by gaining a deeper understanding of the social issues within their community and region and using this knowledge to inform or persuade other people about these important issues,” said Turley.
At the April 16 celebration, a student representative from each group gave a brief presentation to the parents and teachers in attendance about their selected nonprofit and the work their group did on behalf of the organization.
"The best part of the project was getting experience actually writing things that matter, not just for school," said CHS senior Ben Schneider, whose team worked with the Clean Air Partnership to develop verbiage for a series of emails encouraging businesses and individuals to do their part to decrease air pollution.
Following the formal presentation, each group set up in a different area of the library to give attendees a more in-depth look at the work they completed through the project. They explained their projects and the factors that contributed to their successes and challenges. They also answered questions from attendees.
The CHS Culinary Arts Team provided refreshments for the event.