spiritwriting

About the Program

RIT/NTID is excited to announce the all-new approach Spirit Writing program!  The program will be a month-long experience where students will explore their interests in writing. 

Program participants will have the opportunity to work with RIT/NTID student who all share a common passion in writing! 

Students accepted into the Spirit Writing program will:

  • Meet weekly with their assigned group (virtually)
  • Do fun writing challenges with materials we ship to their home!
  • Have an opportunity to view the work of others and offer feedback to one another  
  • Participate in a virtual exhibit of their work on the website of Dyer Arts Center, NTID’s art gallery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Students are grouped by communication preference (e.g., sign language or spoken English). Each group will include 10-12 high school students that share a passion for writing.

Students will register for Flipgrid, and will post thoughts, feedback, and support to others in their group throughout the week. Students will also meet weekly on Zoom with their group. Each group will be led by a deaf/hard-of-hearing RIT student with a passion for writing!

Flipgrid is a website that supports creation of "grids" to facilitate video discussions. Each grid is like a message board where group leaders can pose questions, called "topics," and students can post video responses that appear in a tiled grid display.

All the necessary materials, valued at $150+, will be shipped to students’ homes.  

The program will run over the course of March. Group meetings will be hosted once a week for an hour. Writing challenges will be announced once a week; each challenge should take approximately 2-3 hours per week. The full schedule will be included with the student materials.

Students will send their writing to us, and we’ll be showcasing their work on the website of Dyer Arts Center, NTID’s art gallery.

Teachers can submit recommendation to NTIDOutreach@ntid.rit.edu, or students can email us and include a copy of their high school transcript, 2-3 writing samples, and a brief explanation why they would like to participate in the program.

With COVID-19 and less opportunity to interact, we decided to change things up. Instead of our annual writing competition, we’re offering this program so students can connect with deaf and hard-of-hearing peers from around the country and learn and grow from each other – all while doing something they love!

The writing program is open to deaf and hard-of-hearing students in grades 9 – 12.

Students who are accepted into the program, will receive an official acceptance letter via e-mail. In addition, they will be directed to go online to print and complete the required program forms and e-mail us a copy by February 15, 2021.

Register Today

To register yourself or recommend a student to participate in the program, email us at  NTIDOutreach@ntid.rit.edu 

Register Now