Students working with ForWords have high goals for themselves and understand that to achieve their goals they must complete their education. In the student publication, "Dream On", our students researched their career interests and imagined what life would be like in their "dream" career. They wrote about careers in education, medicine, food services, police work, and veterinary medicine.
     ForWords works to broaden our students' horizons beyond their neighborhood and current life experiences. In the publication, "Letters and Reflections," our students learned about groups of people that society often ignores, for example child soldiers and refugees. After reading stories, watching movies, and researching these topics, students began to understand how and why the issues of immigration and the use of child soldiers are important. In the first half of the project students were asked to write either a letter or an essay to someone unfamiliar with the subject and tell them about a child soldier. Then students participated in the "Red Hand Campaign" sending red printed hands and messages to officials in the United Nations to urge them to stop the use of child soldiers. In the second half of the project, students received letters from refugee students in Monrovia and Liberia and then responded to these pen pals. Click for 2011-12 programs.

     The ability to speak in public is a critical 21st century skill for our students, who are provided numerous opportunities to practice their speaking skills in the ForWords' programs.
     Students prepared a "Mock Trial" and performed the trial for the community as well as for peers at local schools. They focused on immigration raids with each student researching a particular role, such as police officer, welfare worker, or attorney, after which the students presented their arguments for and against the complex issues involved in this contemporary challenge.
     Learning about local issues is an important experience for our students and so they studied and researched prostitution, gang violence, drug/alcohol abuse, child abuse, and environmental waste disposal. They then prepared spoken editorials about their topics, rehearsed these editorials "on camera" and presented their pieces on a local news broadcast entitled, "Canal News." While initially self-conscious and shy, the students, after a great deal of practice, became more confident in their ability to speak in public. Click for 2011-12 programs

     ForWords believes that mastering digital arts is an important 21st century skill. Students working in ForWords' programs have opportunities to learn a variety of digital and computer skills.
     During the summer of 2010 students developed "Public Service Announcements" on topics of interest to them, produced PSAs and then published a "how to" book for future students about the process they learned. This project brought together a variety of skills including public speaking, research and writing, and digital filming and editing.
     Currently students are creating a documentary film that records the process of making a mural, from the inception of the idea to its completion. Click for 2011-12 programs

     At ForWords we believe that our students' teachers deserve the best possible training and coaching. Continuing education and in-service training are essential for teacher excellence.
     Digital Storytelling is important for our students to acquire 21st century writing skills and so it is equally important that their teachers have the same skill set. The Bay Area Writing Project (UC Berkeley) teacher-consultants we hire train and mentor our students' classroom teachers in new writing skills and new writing genres and work directly with our students.
     ForWords has sponsored a number of in-service events for our students' teachers, including a day long institute held at the California Film Institute on digital storytelling and the "Inspiration Series" held at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco on connecting writing and the arts.

     ForWords works to connect with and support our local communities through parent meetings, celebrations of student work, and other educationally-based community events.
     On March 12th, 125 Canal Alliance/ForWords students, their parents and teachers attended a "Family Retreat" Day. They were transported by the Marin Airporter to the deYoung Museum in San Francisco to enjoy the "Olmec Exhibition."
     Currently students are preparing to present their mural to local businesses, neighbors, and the San Rafael planning commission for approval. Click here for more information.