Urban Sites Network Events
2011 Urban Sites Network Conference
Nurturing Student Writing: Navigating Urban Literacies
April 29–30, 2011
The Colonnade Hotel
Boston, Massachusetts
Host site: Boston Writing Project
The Boston Writing Project at the University of Massachusetts Boston is proud to serve as your host for the 2011 Urban Sites Network Conference, Nurturing Student Writing: Navigating Urban Literacies.
Join urban educators from around the country to explore how we can change the way we look at literacy and what it means to be literate. Students are bombarded with learning a variety of literacies and finding a means to tap into these outlets will prove to be a vital component to education in the 21st century.
Register Now!
Download and complete the registration form. The registration deadline is April 7, 2011.
Keynote Speaker
Ernest Morrell 
, a scholar, writer, and teacher, is an associate professor in the Urban Schooling division of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSE&IS) and Associate Director at the Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access (IDEA) at the University of California at Los Angeles. For more than fifteen years Morrell has worked with adolescents using popular culture to promote academic literacy development.
Morrell's other interests include youth participatory action research, critical literacy education, youth media production, and urban teacher leadership. He is the author of several books including Becoming Critical Researchers: Literacy and Empowerment for Urban Youth ; Critical Literacy and Urban Youth: Pedagogies of Access, Dissent, and Liberation ; Linking Literacy and Popular Culture: Finding Connections for Lifelong Learning , and The Art of Critical Pedagogy: Possibilities for Moving from Theory to Practice in Urban Schools .
Formerly a high school English teacher, Morrell has worked with high school teens in Los Angeles for the past 12 years, directing the Council of Youth Research , a project that involves youth in researching issues in their communities and schools. In an assessment-driven educational climate, Morrell's innovative approach to teaching continues to transform how teachers reach students as they navigate through what it means to be a reader and writer in the 21st century.
For more, read NWP's profile of Morrell.
Conference Highlights
» Friday- Tapping Into the Cultural Wealth of Urban Youth's Technology Know-How (Technology Liaisons Network–sponsored pre-conference)
- Visits to local schools and surrounding neighborhoods
- Writing marathon through downtown Boston
- Writing and touring the Beacon Hill area, location of the African Meeting House and Abiel Smith School , first publicly funded schoolhouse for African American children
- Tour of historic Fenway Park
- A workshop at the JFK Presidential Library exploring Ernest Hemingway's manuscripts and JFK's memorabilia
- Freedom Trail tour
- Tour of the Boston Public Library
- Evening reception
- Dinner and student performances
- After-hours entertainment
- Keynote speaker Ernest Morrell—professor, teacher, writer, and media producer
- Multiple rounds of workshop sessions including a strand sponsored by the Technology Liaisons Network
- Breakfast and lunch buffets
- Book vendors
- Annual Urban Sites Network Town Meeting
Downloadable Files
Registration Information and Form
Download PDF
Informational Flier
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Writing Marathon Info
Download PDF
Local Attractions in Boston
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