About

The Institute Mission

The mission of the Cole Summer Writers Institute is to expose middle and high school students to the best writers and writing exercises available. In a one week, workshop based approach, students will grow and explore their creative potential, all the time utilizing the resources of their own, award winning school district.

The Location

The community, nestled at the foothills of the Helderberg Mountains, had its beginnings as a railroad town along the Albany-Schoharie Railroad. In 1826, the Village of Voorheesville built its first school on a ¼ acre lot with a budget of $30. Once this area was dependent upon agriculture and small factories for its economic base. Most of the employment opportunities now exist in the Albany, Schenectady, and surrounding suburban areas. The district is 39 square miles in size and lies entirely within Albany County, mainly in the Towns of Berne, Guilderland and New Scotland. Even though the district is located within a short distance of major highways, rail and air transportation networks, it enjoys the peace and tranquility of the Helderberg Mountains where opportunities for outdoor recreation

activities abound. Several cultural and educational centers are nearby including: New York State

Theater and Museums, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Proctor’s Theater and the Pepsi Arena. There are local and professional sports teams. Sixteen local colleges and universities offer a wide range of educational opportunities.

The Cole Summer Writers Institute started simply as a way of getting students to engage in writing. Actually, it started with a generous offer from John Cole, an offer that included financial compensation that would help fund a project that would help middle school students. It grew from there into a program that would benefit and enrich the lives of students in both our middle school

and high school. The Institute that year was a wonderful success, and I would like to share the text of the introduction to “The Blackbird Review” as a means of fully articulating what I had in mind for this project.

“The Cole Summer Writers Institute came about as a result of a tragedy. In the blink of an eye a loving mother, wife, and friend was taken from us. This is my way of not only remembering her, but also of honoring her spirit.Introduction, The Blackbird Review, Summer 2005

Karen Cole was a long time English teacher at Bethlehem Central Middle School when I first got to know her. She and I were paired as scoring leaders for the then two year old ELA 8 Regional Scoring event. It was the year 2000. She was the veteran teacher, I was the new guy. Karen was a pro, and made me feel like I, too, could handle training the one hundred middle school teachers arrayed before us. I made it through that first year, mainly due to Karen’s unending optimism and humor. A friendship was born.

Over the next two years I got to know Karen not only as my scoring buddy, but also as the wife of my Board of Education president, and the mother of one of my students. It was with an unerring sense of optimism that Karen approached her year end neck surgery in April, 2002. She even asked if I would need her help scoring the Regents exam in June, as she would probably be bored with her recuperation by then, and would be glad to come up to the high school and give us a hand. I was never able to make that call. Karen passed away on May 5, 2002 from complications of her surgery. As I mentioned earlier, in the blink of an eye a warm, caring, joyful spirit was taken from us.

In the time since her death, Karen’s husband, John, continued to serve on the Voorheesville Board of Education. His retirement this year marks the end of a fifteen year commitment to this school district and its children. As a tribute to the spirit of education that is represented by both John and Karen, I approached John with the idea of creating a summer writing workshop, an institute, where students could come and explore their creativity through writing. He enthusiastically supported the idea, and the Cole Summer Writers Institute was born.

This year’s institute has been a wonderful reminder for me as to why Karen loved to teach, why I love to teach, for that matter. Over the course of two hot weeks in July, eighteen students and I celebrated writing. Sitting in the often frigid air conditioning, these young people created majestic worlds, memorable characters, and unforgettable settings. In just a week’s time they hammered away at their stories, revising and digging for written gems, and, in the end, came up with pure literary gold. It is surprising what adolescents can do with a little motivation and a lot of ideas. The following pages are proof enough that our children are the writers of the future. It has been a wonderful summer, and I hope to duplicate it next year, and for many years to come. After all, nothing is better than writing. Just ask the kids.”

My hope is that the Institute continues to succeed. Last year’s group was strong, and we had a fun summer! This year’s changes will bring even more opportunities for students to be creative in the summer!