After school program inspires students to publish work

Nov. 13, 2008—Voorheesville Middle School student Keira Glasheen enjoys writing, but she didn’t want to commit to the school newspaper because of her busy sports schedule so she found another venue—an after school writing program.

A student is pictured above reviewing a newspaper during the after school writing program. The photo is complements of eighth-grader Nathan Pettograsso, who is participating in the program because of his interest in photography.

Voorheesville English teacher Susan Podgorski started the program last year once she saw the willingness and desire of students to write and draw far beyond the hours of the school day.

In an effort to meet their needs, Podgorski recruited the assistance of Joyce Laiosa, director of youth programs for the Voorheesville Public Library, to help establish and run the program.

Now middle school students like Glasheen can explore their creativity, passion and ingenuity while learning how to position their work for the publishing world during meetings held twice a month after school.

About 20 students participated last year, and the interest grew so much that Podgorski had to limit the number of students in the program this year.

Fortunately, several high school students volunteered to serve as mentors, providing their guidance and support to the growing number of participants.

“I love writing,” said Clayton A. Bouton High School senior and mentor Richard Soloyna. “I want to teach everyone that writing is the best thing in the world.”

Students are encouraged to explore a variety of mediums, such as digital books, comic strips, photography, screen plays, poetry, fiction and non-fiction until they find their calling.

“All of the students will get published, whether it’s within our own group, the student newspaper or through open contests,” said Laiosa.

Last year, a group of eighth-graders were inspired to compete in the Scholastic Children’s Picture Book Contest, so they began writing and drawing their own children’s book.

After a lot of hard work and long hours—sometimes as late as 7 p.m.—The Boy Who Saved the World From His Own Backyard became a reality.

“This was an enormous task,” said Podgorski. “It was truly inspiring to see this many students at this age so motivated.”

Although the group did not win anything in this particular contest, they learned valuable lessons about group work and publishing.

The children’s book was only one of a dozen projects students explored.

Eighth-graders Ashley-Nicole LaRock and Claude Rodriguez II submitted several poems to Teen Ink Magazine. Their work was selected for posting on the magazine’s Web site, Teen Ink Raw.

“The program was such a huge success, and so invigorating for everyone involved that Joyce and I plan to make this an official club,” said Podgorski. “We imagine that each year students will bring fresh ideas and creativity to the group.”