The Impact of ABL
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Andover Bread Loaf's primary site is Lawrence, Massachusetts, where its impact in schools and the larger community dates back to 1987. ABL serves students in grades pre-K through grade 12, teachers, and community organizers. ABL offers summer programs for youth and adults, year-round student programming in Lawrence, a professional development network for adults, and conferences and workshops throughout the year. ABL’s Writing Leader program fosters youth development, training high school and college youth to be teachers, leaders, and activists.
In 2023, ABL-affiliated programming ran at the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence (Slice of Bread Loaf), the Lawrence History Center (Rising Loaves), Phillips Academy (Lawrence Student Writers' Workshop), Lawrence Public Library (Writing and Arts Camp), and the Essex Arts Center (Stories in Our Skyline program).
ABL partners with Lawrence-based schools, nonprofit organizations, and cultural institutions to run programs like the Rising Loaves, held annually at the Lawrence History Center.
Across the U.S. and around the world
While primarily based in Andover and Lawrence, Massachusetts, ABL also supports programming in sites across the U.S., partnering with communities to offer professional development, share resources, organize conferences, and support community-led programming.
Additionally, ABL's reach extends outside of the United States through its active international network. ABL’s international network includes educators from New York City, Lawrence, Boston, New Orleans, Puerto Rico, India, El Salvador, and Pakistan.
ABL's summer Adult Workshop for Educators (AWE) brings teachers and community organization staff members to campus for intensive training and lived experience in the ABL pedagogical model. In 2023, program leaders engaged in a 3-week strategic planning retreat to reimagine AWE and prepare to launch a new version on the Phillips Academy campus in the summer of 2024.
6
ABL summer programs offered by Phillips Academy and Lawrence partner institutions in 2023.
10
ABL academic year programs offered by Phillips Academy and Lawrence partner institutions
54
youth participants in the flagship Lawrence Student Writers' Workshop (LSWW)
9
visiting artists on campus
93%
of youth in the LSWW identify as Latine, Black, or Multi-racial
94%
of youth in the LSWW report speaking a language other than English at home
90%
of youth in the LSWW report increasing their confidence in writing and creative arts
88%
of Writing Leaders report increasing their confidence in their own abilities and feeling inspired to achieve academically
2023: Summer Overview
- ABL’s youth programs served over 140 youth, ranging in age from first grade through high school.
- Grades 1-5 participated in the Slice program at the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence.
- Grades 6-8 participated in the Rising Loaves program at the Lawrence History Center.
- Grades 9-12 participated in the Lawrence Student Writers Workshop at Phillips Academy.
- Grades 6-12 participated in the ABL Library Writing and Arts Camp at the Lawrence Public Library
2023: Alumni Achievements
- Five ABL alumni of the Adult Workshop for Educators (AWE) were enrolled on full fellowships in the MA program in English at the Bread Loaf School of English (BLSE) in Middlebury Vermont.
- An AWE alumnus was appointed as professor at BLSE.
- An AWE alumna was appointed as the Assistant Director of the Bread Loaf Teacher Network.
Lawrence Student Writers Workshop Participants React to the Impact of ABL
"I love being part of the community that is built in this space and love hearing people’s voices. This is an amazing family."
"I always leave Bread Loaf with a fervent desire to return to my community and bring ABL with me."
ABL Summer 2023 Student Demographics
Looking Ahead
- In the 2023-2024 school year, ABL will focus on sustaining past programming in the schools and community organizations with whom we partner, while also expanding programming in new partner sites.
- Almost all ABL programming is organized and delivered by ABL’s Writing Leaders, high school and college youth who are trained in ABL’s methodology. In order to meet the demand, in 2023-24 ABL aims to train 25% more Writing Leaders throughout the year.
- ABL will continue the ABL-Lawrence High School’s Log Cabin Project, a program that brings cohorts of Lawrence High’s 9th graders to the Phillips Academy for a day of writing, arts, and community.
In Action: Andover Bread Loaf
