For over 15 years, the Community Writing Project has partnered with neighborhood schools across Chicago to offer writing workshops to parents, grandparents, and other adult members of the school’s community. We refer to this initiative as the “Parents Write their Worlds” program.

Parents Write their Worlds (PWTW) aims to bridge differences between the cultures of the school and community by providing a program that builds on parents’ existing strengths as educators and by working to include parents’ writings in the school curriculum. PWTW thereby re-casts the role of parents as thinkers, writers, and equal partners in the educational culture of the school and community.

The Real Conditions magazines included in this section represent the work of diverse PWTW writing groups.

2003 Parents Write their Worlds magazine (writings from Telpochcalli & Whittier Schools)

2005 Parents Write their Worlds magazine (writings from Telpochcalli and Suder Schools)

2006 Parents Write their Worlds magazine (writings from Little Village/Lawndale High School and the National Teachers Academy)

April 2007 Parents Write their Worlds magazine (writings from Telpochcalli, National Teaching Academy and Little Village/Lawndale Schools)

July 2007 Parents Write their Worlds magazine (writings from Telpochcalli, National Teaching Academy & Little Village/Lawndale Schools)

2009 Parents Write their Worlds Magazine  (writings from the Little Village/Lawndale High School)

2010 Parents Write their Worlds magazine (writings from the Little Village/Lawndale High School)

2015 Parents Write their Worlds magazine (Writings from Whittier and Volta Schools)