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Andover Bread Loaf
Spring Newsletter 2015
A Phillips Academy Outreach Program
From the Director
Tapping the Energy, Idealism,
and Talents of Young People
Andover Bread Loaf transforms
students, teachers, schools, and
communities by igniting a passion
for learning through written
self-expression.
The collective energy and action that Andover Bread Loaf teachers, youth, families, and youth-serving organizations bring to
Lawrence and other ABL sites is boundless—as are the ways ABL’s
assorted community-based literacy projects cross boundaries of
age and ethnicity to enrich school learning for all involved students.
This newsletter identifies some of the beliefs and practices that support our work in
Lawrence and at networked sites that are part of our local initiatives. Stories and reports
also reveal some of the ways ABL moves from intention to action.
You’ll read about young people as emerging leaders (and the adults with whom they work
side by side), the practices that support their work, and their contributions as they move
ABL into action, bringing skills, insights, and idealism to a wide variety of leadership tasks.
These accounts provide the strongest possible evidence for our claim that young people—
who breathe life into community organizations, agencies, and classrooms, creating opportunities for themselves and for all of us—are the most underutilized resource in education
and social change.
This newsletter also raises questions: What outcomes are we looking for and why? How
do we measure success? How can we strengthen the interplay between local policies
and practices and ABL’s participation in national and international partnerships and
networks, including the Bread Loaf Teacher Network? What tools work best to document
ABL practices for our own purposes of growth and critique and as blueprints for others?
Answers to come!
Emma, a Lawrence 6th-grader, is a star
participant in ABL workshops and events.
Lou Bernieri
What’s Inside?
Teacher Jineyda Tapia 2
El Taller Attracts Talent
2
The house was packed at the Speak Your Truth open mic, hosted on January 18 by poet
Harlym 125. ABL coordinated the event at Lawrence’s El Taller café—at the request of ABL
Writing Leaders—so that area youth and adults could voice their feelings about the recent
killings of people of color in Ferguson, Missouri, and other parts of the country.
Haitian Massacre Remembered 2
ABL Study Under Way 3
Superhero Poetry & Fun 3
Video Grant Awarded 4
Guerrilla Society Speaks Out
4
Photos by John Hurley
Angel
Fallen
el;
llen ang
world;
I am a fa
st in the
lo
is
t
a
el th
ings;
o live;
An ang
lost it w
s
a
h
t
hance t
a
c
h
t
d
l
n
e
o
g
c
e
An an
ants a s
el that w
world;
is
.
h
t
An ang
ow well
w life in
e
s.
n
.
a
e
esn’t kn
o
d
mistake
for him
e
To liv
e
h
that
e sam
chosen
h
ld
t
r
n
e
o
e
e
k
w
a
b
m
t has
A new
l won’t
iven.
ath tha
en ange
be forg
o
t
to the p
t
o
-grader
h
d
This fall
ig
o
r
has t
ing, 9th
ill go
rl
e
w
h
ta
l
t
S
e
a
g
h
—
n
rk City)
ows w
This a
(New Yo
ngel kn
a
n
e
ll
This fa
Inspire
Teacher Profile
Connecting ABL,
the Classroom,
and the Community
Teach
“I’ve always known that words have power,
and I realized somewhere along the
way that if we want to make some
type of change, it has to start with
education,” says Jineyda Tapia.
The daughter of immigrants, Tapia
discovered the power of her voice as
a high school student in an Andover
Bread Loaf classroom. “I was asked
to talk to my family about their
American Dream,” she says. “That
class took me out of the basement
classes and into a world where
academia was relevant to my life.”
A teacher in the Lawrence public
schools since 2006, Tapia incorporates
ABL methods in everything she does,
from classroom management to language
acquisition to improving test scores.
“I want my students to be able to read
The Odyssey and enjoy books by Junot
Díaz,” says Tapia. “I want to give them
access to the world of academia.”
Tapia earned a BA degree from UMass–Lowell
and, as an Esperanza Fellow, an MA degree
in literature from Middlebury College’s Bread
Loaf School of English. She was named an
Unsung Heroine in 2012 by the Massachusetts
Commission on the Status of Women.
Phillips Academy and Andover High School slam teams have joined the Guerrilla Society
(see back cover) as regulars at ABL open mics and other events in Lawrence. PA’s Dakoury
Godo-Solo ’17 (above) and Ian Jackson ’16 (opposite page) take the mic at Speak Your Truth.
Lawrence’s El Taller Café
Community Hotspot Welcomes All Ages
For more than 20 years, former public school teacher Mary Guerrero and her Bread Loaf
Teacher Network (BLTN) colleagues—including ABL director Lou Bernieri—were convinced
that if they could hang their ABL shingle in Lawrence, the crowds would come. They were right.
El Taller (Spanish for The Workshop) opened in 2012. Owned by Guerrero’s family, the café
and bookstore quickly became a congenial gathering place for youth, families, and community groups and has emerged as a vibrant Merrimack Valley cultural hub. Its Open Mic
Nights often draw 100-plus youth and adult participants from area towns and cities.
Among El Taller’s most active visitors are members of Phillips Academy’s slam poetry team
and Alianza Latina club. “It’s like coming home to family you never knew you had,” says
PA 10th-grader Dakoury Godo-Solo.
PA Spanish instructor Mark Cutler goes there often “to meet up with people, do my best
thinking, and take advantage of cultural events, exotic food, and the eclectic atmosphere.”
He also takes his students—to soak up the vibe, to engage in social activism, and for poetry
slams and intellectual exchanges that unite PA and Lawrence High School students.
Several youth poetry events at El Taller are cosponsored by BLTN partners Movement City
and Elevated Thought. The café also hosts diverse community events and programs and
has hosted public readings by Martín Espada, Natasha Trethewey, Raquel Cepeda, and
Carlos Contreras.
Remembering Those Who Died in the 1937 Haitian Massacre
In September and October of 1937, between 9,000 and 18,000
ethnic Haitians and their Dominican-born descendants were
systematically rounded up and killed in Dominican territory.
We will never truly know the exact number. The murders were
ordered by Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina.
To mark the 77th anniversary of the Haitian Massacre, ABL
sponsored an Open Mic and International Virtual Vigil at the
El Taller café on October 3, 2014. The event was in support of the
Border of Lights project started three years ago by writer and
poet Julia Alvarez, a 1967 graduate of Abbot Academy. Border
of Lights is an international coming together to commemorate,
collaborate, and continue the legacy of hope and justice.
More than 40 people turned out for the event, which featured
ABL teachers and youth who had worked in Haitian schools
during ABL’s August 2014 conference. Mostly from Lawrence,
the crowd also included students from Phillips Academy’s
Alianza Latina club.
ABL’s commemorative gathering—now planned to be held each year in
October—culminated in a candlelight vigil outside Lawrence City Hall.
(photo by Carmen Muñoz-Fernández)
Yearlong Study
to Guide ABL
Thanks to a generous gift from ABL
Advisory Board member Scobie Ward
(PA Class of ’84), ABL has contracted with
Pathways, Inc., for a yearlong study of its
practices and programs. Drs. Eva Gold and
Elaine Simon will observe ABL summer
and school-year programs, review data
gathered about ABL, and interview youth
and adults with whom ABL has worked
closely. Their final analysis will be used as
ABL moves forward, particularly toward
its goal of increasing the capacity of
low-income communities to influence
educational policies and practices at local
and state levels.
Student Poetry Salutes
Favorite Superheroes
“I know. I can’t go because I’m blind,” said
first-grader Alex to a staff member of the
Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence.
“It’s for second- to fifth-graders, but if you
want to go, of course you can!” she replied.
On March 28, Alex joined 100 other
children and 30 adults and high school/
college Writing Leaders for a three-hour
ABL Eat a Poem conference. Following
an inspiring performance
by the Guerrilla Society,
students wrote poetry
about their favorite
superheroes as well as
superheroes in their
everyday lives.
Alex, who had dictated his
poem to a Writing Leader,
raced to be first at the mic
during the initial sharing
session; more than 70 other
students followed. Later,
they joined workshops led
by local artists, teachers,
youth, and Addison Gallery
of American Art staff.
This event was modeled on
a 2014 Superhero Saturday
in New Orleans organized by
ABL alumni.
Create
Pathways, Inc., has completed numerous
local and national research and evaluation
studies on issues important to urban school
reform, with a special focus on the role of
organized youth, parents, educators, and
citizens in school improvement.
In My Worl
d
d there wo
u
ld
n
’t be such
crime or b
th
ings as vio
ad things h
lence and
appening.
In my worl
d everyon
e would liv
In my worl
e forever in
d no one w
peace.
ould suffe
In my worl
r
through so
d you wou
much pain
ld see talk
.
everywhere
ing anima
ls and hap
.
py kids
In my worl
d you wou
ldn’t have
In my worl
to work fo
d everyon
r money o
e
is perfect.
r food.
In my worl
d everyon
e
w
o
u
ld see each
In my worl
d everythin
other in bro
g was once
therly love
I found tha
a place of
.
t special o
d
a
n
ce
rs
n
until
e.
Now my w
orld is full
of colorful
love and li
ght.
—Leamsi,
8th-grader
(Lawrence
)
In my worl
My Sup
erhero
Is…
irl
Danceg
eople.
r and p
e
w
o
p
il
ballet.
e ev
at her.
s rap to
ay all th
e
w
c
a
n
a
s
e
d
looking
c
e
n
p
h
a
s
to
d
,
s
g
e
n
Sh
e ca
rythin
at no on
ces eve
.
ifully th
t
She dan
u
dancing
a
r
e
cing
e
b
es so
with h
c
her dan
n
e
a
v
h
d
it
lo
e
w
in
e
Sh
ll
c
n
fa
a
n
one d
kes me
s every
She ma
g
e make
h
s
can brin
s
e
s so she
e
Sometim
c
n
a
d
he
wing, s
power.
-grader
g or sno
in
in
a
r
iny, 3rd
s
’s
s
a
it
J
n
e
—
ce)
Wh
(Lawren
out.
the sun
Girl
t
Power
l. I shoo
wer Gir
o
P
shock
e
n
b
a
ing. I c
would
I
h
t
,
y
ro
n
e
a
h
hen
n lift
a super
er. So w
nds. I ca
If I were
oot wat
f my ha
h
o
s
go
t
I
u
,
n
o
a
d
g
han
d. I c
e
lightnin
my left
er spee
f
p
o
u
t
s
ed to b
u
e
e
O
v
n
ys.
it, I ha
eople
e
p
k
n
a
a
bad gu
e
e
m
h
’t
ak
er. W
ters can
ter to m
of a fing
firefigh
with wa
g
e snap
eds
e
h
in
t
n
n
t
t
a
h
ld
re
ix lig
e wor
m
h
I
T
,
.
e
anywhe
y
fl
im
t
can
er. That
here on
knees, I
ud pow
y
lo
m
e
v
somew
d
a
n
be
oh
he
When I
o help t
me. I als
portal.
er beat
ould als
v
w
e
I
n
.
s
ic
y
.
ld
gu
nam
the wor
me. Bad
der tha
der
to save
eak lou
ly
p
r, 3rd-gra
n
s
I
o
te
s
is
re
n
ll
a
o
s
H
r
mea
e
—
w
o
rleans)
ss. My p
(New O
homele
Video Grant Awarded
ABL recently received a grant
to document its popular Family
Literacy Nights and create a training
video for teachers interested in
organizing their own FLNs. Funding
was awarded through the LRNG
Challenge, a project supported by
the National Writing Project, John
Legend’s Show Me Campaign,
and the John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation.
Introducing the Guerrilla Society
ABL Advisory Board
P
m
lli p
ra
A
hi
ve r Bread L
o
d
f
oa
An
Support
Michael T. Cahill ’84, Chair
New York, N.Y.
Timothy P.F. Davenport ’80, P’17, ’18
New Canaan, Conn.
José A. Dobles ’98
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ricardo Dobles ’85
Holden, Mass.
Richard B. Gorham ’86
Andover, Mass.
Cynthia L. Greene ’87
Newton, Mass.
Donald M. Kendall ’85
Weston, Conn.
Tucker Levy ’88
Charlestown, Mass.
Abby J. Shuman ’84
Cambridge, Mass.
Gabriela Poma Traynor ’88
Cambridge, Mass.
Scobie D. Ward ’84
Hong Kong
Sturgis P. Woodberry ’84
Darien, Conn.
sA
cade
ch
my O u tre a
Pr o
g
Their Words Are Changing the World
One of the goals of ABL’s youth development programs is to nurture young artists, such as
the members of the “Guerrilla Society,” Lawrence’s youth slam poetry team. The Guerrilla
Society (pictured above) has given inspiring performances at several student conferences
and headlined the fall 2014 ALIVE professional development conference for teachers.
The world needs artists and truth-tellers
Guerrilla Society (GS) was birthed in 2013
at Movement City in Lawrence, Mass.
Young, passionate souls met four days a
week to talk and write about everything
and anything under the sun.
It’s a door opener, has given me amazing
experiences, and allowed me to expand
as a writer
The group decided to call itself the
Guerrilla Society because we were a small
number. We found that our voices were
powerful. The GS tag line is “Wisdom in
small numbers.” Using guerrilla tactics, our
words are weapons that attack societal
problems and stigmas. We are willing to be
controversial and tackle topics others are
unlikely to address.
Warriors with pens functioning as wings
In 2014, we started meeting at El Taller
and in members’ homes. From the eclectic
urban atmosphere of open mic nights in
Lawrence to the biggest slam poetry competition in the world, Louder Than A Bomb,
GS has made a name for itself by focusing
on creativity and speaking our truth boldly.
Saucy flavors from every country
Within our group we try to promote the
society we want to see. We are diverse in
every way—ethnicity, race, age, spirituality,
sexual orientation, class, and culture. Every
individual in the group matters.
It’s a tree; deeply rooted in free and
ethical diversity
Our mantra is “no disclaimers”; we encourage one another’s unique voice, acknowledging that each one is important, no
matter how uncomfortable we might feel
about what we write.
It’s the cave in the rain storm of a
climbing trip gone wrong
Through our voices we are able to raise
awareness of injustice and oppression.
We give others a model to connect their
inner voice more deeply to the reality of
the world around them. We have definitely
found that we, the Guerrilla Society and all
of us, are more beautiful, free, and powerful than we can possibly imagine.
The place and the people you will always
come back to because it feels like a
second home
We are dynamic in different levels of
seriousness. We love to have fun, but we
also see ourselves as the beginning of a
revolution, starting with ourselves, unlocking locks, breaking barriers, and setting
new standards in approaching life.
We are crashing waves against the
unjustifiable, raging tides thrashing
forward to freedom.
Andover Bread Loaf
Phillips Academy
180 Main Street
Andover MA 01810-4161
978-884-8452
[email protected]
www.andover.edu/breadloaf
Support Andover Bread Loaf!
Help us make a difference in the lives of ABL students
and teachers who participate in ABL activities.
Please visit www.andover.edu/ablgiving to make
your gift today.
—The Guerrilla Society
(written collectively)