WordPowered - formerly WriteBoston

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WordPowered fosters 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.

10/08/2026

We are pleased to share our Annual Report for the 2025/2026 school year!

Last year, our nerve to serve more classrooms and youth only grew stronger. In 2025/2026, WordPowered served 136 unique students through after-school programming and summer programs. The impact extends beyond the young people directly in our programs. 121 educators participated in Collaborative Coaching, with more than 6,500 students experiencing its ripple effects.

The numbers tell one part of the story. The other is all of the students finding out that their sentence, their story, their byline can affect change in the world. In a year when machines are writing more and more, our students are doing the opposite: pushing language to the edge of their own thinking to open up to the world around them. WordPowered puts young people in the conversation about the writing shaping the future.

Thank you for being a part of the WordPowered community. We look forward to continuing our impact into the upcoming year and celebrating 25 years of WordPowered.

Read the full report here: wordpowered.org/ar26

10/01/2026

We are deeply grateful to the Wellington Management Foundation for awarding WordPowered $75,000 as part of its 10-year commitment to support our work!

The Wellington Management Foundation supports organizations that strengthen communities and expand opportunities for individuals and families, with a focus on areas including education and youth development. WordPowered’s work to equip young people with the literacy, critical thinking, and communication skills they need to find the power in their voices closely aligns with these priorities.

This meaningful general operating support provides vital flexibility as we continue growing our programs and reaching more youth and educators across Boston. Thank you to the Wellington Management Foundation for making such a significant, long-term investment in WordPowered and the young people we serve.

09/17/2026

We're excited to work with you too! Lesley University

09/17/2026

Our Teens in Print Associate, Lily Labella, shares highlights from this year's Summer Journalism Institute.

Read more here: https://www.wordpowered.org/sji26-wrap-up/

09/10/2026

We’re thrilled to share that WordPowered’s Teens in Print program has received a $20,000 grant through Mass Cultural Council YouthReach Program!

Mass Cultural Council funds reach every community in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to advance the Commonwealth’s creative and cultural sector by celebrating traditions and talents, championing its collective needs, and equitably investing public resources.

For this fiscal year, Mass Cultural Council has adopted a $34 million spending plan, allowing the Agency to award at least 2,200 grants totaling approximately $26.2 million to the Commonwealth’s creative and cultural sector. This is funded primarily through public dollars, including the Agency’s $26.9 million state budget appropriation and support from the National Endowment for the Arts. The agency also runs the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment.

With the support of MCC, student reporters at Teens in Print will develop their writing, reporting, and critical thinking skills while using journalism as a creative tool to explore their identities, communities, and the issues that matter to them.

We’re grateful to Mass Cultural Council for investing public resources in youth creativity and expression and for supporting the vital role that arts and culture play in building vibrant, connected communities across Massachusetts, especially at a time when other federal and city funds continue to decrease.

Read student articles at teensinprint.com.

09/03/2026

The 2026 Summer Journalism Institute has come to a close, but before everyone goes back to school, we’d like to take a moment to highlight everything our students have accomplished over the past six weeks. In this slideshow are photos from our field trips, multimedia projects, our Victorian masquerade Showcase, and College Week.

08/31/2026

Our Teachers' Institute ended on a joyous note! Zahra Belyea, our Collaborative Coaching Specialist, shares her experience facilitating the program for the second year in a row.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4gMK28X

08/20/2026

We are grateful that WordPowered (formerly WriteBoston) is a recipient of a Cummings Foundation Sustaining Grant of $50,000 since 2018. This generous support has powered our core programs: Teens in Print and Collaborative Coaching, helping us enrich youth literacy and strengthen educator support across the state.

This support enables us to offer high-quality literacy that centers youth voice and choice, no-cost Summer Teacher Institutes for educators, and stipends for our youth journalists and storytellers.

Founded in 1986, the Cummings Foundation supports countless organizations with an array of causes across Northeastern Massachusetts, making a real difference in their communities - and we are honored to be one of them.

Thank you, Cummings Foundation, for believing in our mission!

08/13/2026

Our teen reporters were in their Victorian era for the Summer Journalism Institute Showcase! Students in our social media group transformed the fifth floor of Suffolk University into a banquet with masks, fans, and fun to set the stage for students in our magazine, video, and podcasting groups to share their multimedia projects.

Thank you to our friends, family, and supporters who assembled on this occasion and graced us with their attendance. Read the most recent articles from SJI now at teensinprint.com.

08/10/2026

You can trace the lineage of resistance-through-print from Thomas Paine all the way to Gen Z journalists today. See how in "Making Headlines," our latest short film, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqDFBZ4Hjzo&t=6s

GBH WordPowered - formerly WriteBoston

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Boston, MA

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https://WordPowered.org/

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