How Phonetic Spit Helped Freshman Students Re-Engage with Literacy and Classroom Participation
📊 Key Results
78% increase in student classroom participation
86 students served through relationship-centered arts programming
67% of participants voluntarily shared original writing aloud, many for the first time
26 students elected to share their original work with a public audience
👥 Client / Partner Intro -
Phonetic Spit partnered with Alhambra High School in Phoenix, Arizona to support freshman students enrolled in remedial reading courses. The residency engaged five ninth-grade classrooms, serving students who had previously struggled with reading confidence, classroom participation, and literacy engagement.
The goal of the partnership was to ignite student voice, increase active participation, and reframe reading and writing as accessible, expressive, and personally relevant—laying the groundwork for stronger academic and social connection.
Key Outcomes & Metrics
50–65% of participants perform publicly for the first time
80% report feeling supported by peers
40% year-over-year return participation
100% of programs offered at no cost to youth
⚠️ The Challenge
Many students in these freshman remedial reading classes entered the classroom with low confidence in their reading and writing abilities and limited willingness to participate aloud. Discussions were often dominated by a few voices, while many students avoided sharing altogether—out of fear of being judged, getting it wrong, or standing out.
For educators, this presented a familiar challenge: how to re-engage students who have already internalized academic frustration, particularly in literacy-based courses. Traditional instructional approaches alone were not enough to shift participation or build the trust required for students to take risks with their voices.
Alhambra High School needed an approach that could lower barriers to participation, build emotional safety, and reframe reading and writing as tools for self-expression—without sacrificing academic rigor.
To address these challenges, Phonetic Spit implemented a week-long, in-school residency designed to build trust, activate student voice, and re-engage learners through creative literacy.
🔧 The Solution (Step-by-Step)
1) Create brave spaces for participation
Phonetic Spit began by intentionally creating brave spaces through shared classroom agreements that established clear expectations for how students show up for themselves and one another. Together, students and teaching artists centered five guiding agreements:
Be Brave
Be Respectful
Your Voice Matters
Be Authentic
Create Freely
These agreements framed the classroom as a space where risk-taking was encouraged, listening was expected, and personal expression was valued. Low-risk literacy activities, games, and collaborative exercises reinforced these norms—helping students practice courage, reduce participation anxiety, and build trust over time.
2) Build engagement through play and repetition
Within these brave spaces, workshops emphasized structured, repeatable participation through short verbal responses, partner shares, and group exercises. This allowed students to practice contributing without fear of judgment, increasing confidence and consistency with each session.
3) Center student experience through personal prompts
As trust deepened, teaching artists introduced personal writing prompts that honored students’ lived experiences. By writing from familiar ground—family, identity, memory, music, place, and challenge—students were invited to take creative risks while remaining rooted in their own truth.
4) Teach core reading and writing techniques alongside standards
Within the brave space framework, teaching artists explicitly taught accessible reading and writing strategies aligned with classroom goals. As students analyzed mentor texts and peer writing, they practiced key literacy concepts, including:
Context clues to determine meaning and deepen comprehension
Inference to interpret subtext, tone, and author intent
Imagery to strengthen clarity and detail
Metaphor to deepen meaning and layered expression
Anecdote to ground writing in personal experience and concrete moments
By pairing text analysis with creative application, students were given clear structures for understanding and expression, helping creative risk feel supported rather than overwhelming.
5) Coach revision and clarity
Students engaged in guided revision cycles focused on clarity, specificity, and intentional word choice. Emphasis was placed on growth rather than perfection—reinforcing that brave participation includes revisiting and refining ideas.
6) Rehearse voice and presence
Before sharing publicly, students practiced reading their work aloud in supportive rehearsal settings. Teaching artists offered coaching on pacing, breath, and emphasis—framing public speaking as a learnable skill that is attainable with courage, practice, and preparation.
7) Create pathways to voluntary sharing
Each session included choice-based invitations to share—pairs → small groups → whole class—allowing students to decide how and when they participated. This respected student agency while steadily expanding comfort with public expression.
8) Culminate in a student showcase
The residency concluded with a classroom showcase, where students who chose to share read their original work aloud. The experience reinforced listening, mutual respect, and collective courage—strengthening connection and belonging within the classroom.
📈 Impact Summary
By the end of the residency, classrooms had shifted from hesitation to engagement. Students who previously avoided participation were raising their hands, sharing their writing, and listening to one another with respect. What began as remedial reading instruction evolved into a shared experience of courage, connection, and voice—demonstrating how creative literacy can transform both learning and classroom culture.
Alhambra student shares her poem
