As part of our Solution Summit project, students wrote op-eds proposing solutions to problems in our community. Students proposed and self-selected the issues they would write about and each student proposed a different solution to their selected issue. The four op-eds in this document were written by individual students. They represent only four of the nine issues students responded to in Solution Summit, and only four of about 40 op-eds submitted by our class.

Through this project, I taught students to effectively use logos, pathos, and ethos; to acknowledge and respond to counter-claims; to write a compelling hook; and to select and use evidence and examples to support their arguments. These op-eds were submitted to the New York Times Student Editorial Contest.

The day before the 2020 election results were announced, I taught a lesson in which my students wrote letters to America expressing their hopes for the future of our country no matter the outcome of the election. Students recorded themselves reading their favorite line of their letter, and we strung these together in a message to the country. By providing an opportunity for students to express their hopes and fears, this mini-project empowered student voice in a time that was one of anxious uncertainty for many.

I based our creative writing project ("The Inspiration Lab") in a workshop model. Every week, students met with their workshop groups to share their work, reflect on their own writing, and receive constructive feedback from peers. Students self-facilitated these workshops, rotating facilitators each week.

This workshop displays student work and feedback from week 3 of the project. At this point in the project, students' writing skills had grown noticeably and their feedback was becoming more specific and helpful.