Young Chicago Authors provides free literary arts partnerships to select Chicago Public Schools to assist in the cultivation of a strong arts culture.
YCA’s education partnerships focus on meeting the needs of our teacher partners, and may include participation in the Rooted and Radical Youth Poetry Festival, residencies and workshops within the classroom or after school programming, school-based open mics, and other supports.
In addition, Education Partner schools have the opportunity to send up to ten poets to compete at the poetry festival, Rooted & Radical (R&R), with teams from other schools. Most schools organize a field trip to attend the festival to show school-wide support for the team. Poetry club members not competing in the competition have the opportunity to participate in the non-competitive auxiliary programs.
Program Benefits
- Free YCA Teaching Artist instruction and mentorship in class and/or after-school.
- Assist in coordinating and recruiting for an after-school poetry club.
- Assistance in preparing for the poetry festival, Rooted & Radical, including instruction in both performance and poetry.
- Networking and collaboration opportunities with schools in the partnership.
Partnership Requirements
All Education Partnership schools must have:
- A classroom teacher able to support literary arts curriculum delivery and host a YCA Teaching Artist.
- The capacity to conduct regular planning meetings with a YCA Teaching Artist to coordinate in-class and after-school curriculum.
- A dedicated school staff member to recruit and coach an after-school poetry club
- Space to run a Poetry Club on campus one day a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays) across the partnership.
- The ability to attend a Professional Development (PD) trainin
Applications for the 2025-2026 school year are currently closed. If you are interested in having the program at your school, please contact elly@youngchicagoauthors.org