Thank you for participating in the
Transforming Writing Instruction:
Student-Centered Practices
from Teens in Print
A WordPowered Summer Institute for Teachers
Program Details
Who: High school ELA, Social Studies, and Humanities teachers
When: July 28–30, 2025
Where: Suffolk University, Boston, MA
This summer, learn how you can give your students the tools to write with passion and purpose. Spend three days exploring student-centered writing instruction in action at an immersive professional development, embedded with Teens in Print’s Summer Journalism Institute. Witness how Boston teens explore the power of their voice to positively contribute to the world through researching, writing, and publishing articles about issues that matter to them, and collaborate with other educators to apply learnings to your own practice.
As a participant in the Transforming Writing Instruction Institute, you will:
- Observe student-centered writing instruction in real time, as our skilled Youth Program Facilitators work with teen journalists.
- Reflect on how your own identities and those of your students show up in the classroom, as we explore and unpack the principles and practices of student-centered writing instruction.
- Collaborate with other educators to identify opportunities to implement these practices with your students.
- Leave with at least one authentic, meaningful writing assignment to use in your classroom to empower your students as writers.
Cost: Free (except if taking with optional credit)
Credit: Participants may choose to either receive:
- 20 PDPs (session attendance + ~5 hours of outside work)
OR
- 1 graduate credit from Bay Path University (session attendance + ~30 hours of outside work; additional fee of $75)
Schedule:
Monday, July 28, 2025, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Tuesday, July 29, 2025, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Wednesday, July 30, 2025, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Meet your instructors
Zahra A. Belyea
Zahra (she series) is a WordPowered Instructional Coach, serving administrators at the Melvin H. King academies as well as co-leading professional development with other public schools and nonprofit organizations. She holds a B.A. in English from Boston University, an M.Ed. in Secondary Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College, and an M.A. in Theatre Education from Emerson College. During her over twenty years as an educator, she has had the privilege of working with many students as she taught and tutored in both writing and literature on the collegiate, secondary, and middle school levels, acted as a Writing Consultant/Tutor at Fisher College, the University of New Hampshire (UNH), and Wheelock College, and held the position of Academic Support Specialist for Graduate Students at Wheelock College. Additionally, she is the former coordinator of a university writing studio in Florida.
Meredith Moore
Meredith (she/her) is a WordPowered Instructional Coach, who leads professional development workshops on literacy across the curriculum, and coaches teachers in Lynn Public Schools. She has over 20 years of teaching experience at the elementary, middle school, and graduate levels. She holds a B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard College, an M.S. in Childhood Education from Bank Street College, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Boston College. Through her work, Meredith seeks to enhance teachers’ capacity to foster the brilliance of young people and ultimately to create more equitable schools.
Meghan Rosenberg
Meghan (she/her) is a WordPowered Instructional Coach, supporting teachers at Boston International Newcomers Academy in addition to facilitating professional development workshops. She was formerly the founding middle school Humanities teacher and team leader at a Boston K-12 charter school, and has also worked as an educational consultant and curriculum writer. Meghan holds a B.A in Education and Linguistics from Brown University and an M.A. in Teaching Secondary English from Tufts University. She is passionate about systems change for equity and wellbeing, and works to create educational spaces where all students can thrive as their individual selves and develop the tools to shape the world around them.
Please contact professionallearning@writeboston.org for any questions about the program.
WordPowered (formerly WriteBoston) offers professional development and coaching for educators and afterschool and summer programming for youth. Our mission is to foster deep learning for youth and educators. We elevate and reshape the role of literacy — writing, reading, and discussion — so that all youth think critically and can use their voice to create change. Our core values are transformative learning, empowering literacy, youth voice, and justice.