Portraits of Success: Powerful Voices for Kids

Powerful Voices for Kids is an innovative university-school partnership supported by the Media Education Lab at Temple University's School of Communications and Theater and the Russell Byers Charter School in Philadelphia. This collaborative program offers a comprehensive media literacy and technology integration program for children ages 5-12 that includes a 4-week summer learning program for children, a staff development program for educators, in-school and after-school mentoring, and a research and assessment component.

The program is designed to strengthen children's abilities to think for themselves, communicate effectively using language and technology tools, and use their powerful voices to contribute to the quality of life in their families, their schools, their communities, and the world. Evidence from the program reveals statistically significant gains in children's ability to identify the author, purpose and target audience of a media message. Current partners in the collaborative program include Verizon Foundation, Roberts Elementary School, and the National Writing Project.