Empowering Writing Instruction
A WordPowered Summer Institute for Teachers
Registration is now open!
Program Details
Who: Secondary ELA, Social Studies, and ESL teachers
When: July 14–16, 2026, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Where: Suffolk University, Boston, MA
Cost: Free
Optional credit: 23 PDPs or 1 graduate credit (see below for more info)
This summer, learn how you can give your students the tools to write with passion and purpose. Spend three days exploring empowering 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 Empowering Writing Instruction Institute, you will:
- Observe writing instruction in real time, as our skilled Youth Program Facilitators work with teen journalists.
- Listen as youth share candid insights about their experiences with writing and education.
- 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 empowering 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.
Interested in receiving credit?
Participants may choose to receive either:
- 23 PDPs (session attendance + ~5 hours of outside work) OR
- 1 graduate credit from Bay Path University (session attendance + ~20 hours of outside work; additional fee of $75)
WordPowered 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.
Meet the Instructors
The teacher institute will be led by Specialists from WordPowered’s Collaborative Coaching Team.
Zahra A. Belyea
(she series)
Zahra serves both educators and youth through embedded coaching and program support. 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 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
(she/her)
Meredith 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.
