VENTURA : Poet Program Grants Available to Schools

Public and private schools in the city of Ventura have been invited to apply for a grant that will bring published local poets into classrooms for special-education and gifted pupils as well as students at risk of dropping out.

Schools that apply for a grant must agree to pay $150 toward the cost of the five, 50-minute workshops, said coordinator Shelley Savren. The city’s Cultural Affairs Office and the state Poets in the Schools organization will pick up the remaining $175 charge, Savren said.

About half of the 16 grants are still available, she said.

Ventura’s Cultural Affairs Office awarded the poetry organization $2,800 to run the workshops in city schools, she said. It is the second year the city has made the grant, Savren said.

A stipulation of the grant is that it be used only for small group workshops attended by students with disabilities, those in accelerated learning programs or students who are performing so poorly in school they are at risk of dropping out, she said.

California Poets in the Schools has brought writers and students together for more than 30 years, she said. Its aim is to inspire a love of language and to build critical-thinking skills, self-confidence and self-esteem, Savren said.

The organization contracts professionally trained and published poets to go into schools. Poets to be included in the Ventura workshops include Savren and Richard Newsham, both Ventura residents, Allison Hedge Coke of Santa Paula and Simi Valley poet Ron Reichick.

For more information, contact Savren at 986-5800, Ext. 1951.