Each winter, TCU helps hundreds of fourth graders get pumped up with their pencils.

The College of Education’s Center for Urban Education welcomes students from Fort Worth areas schools to Palko Hall, where they attend all-day writing workshops designed to polish their prose and prepare for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) writing test.

“It’s a full-day of writing,” says Jennifer Brooks, director of the center. “They start out listening to stories so they can hear what good writing sounds like. Then they might be given writing prompts or break into small groups and rotate through various workshops where they focus on grammar or writing skills.”

Weeks before the students arrive on campus, Brooks begins the process by meeting with the fourth grade teachers and administrators at each participating school to help them design the day’s curriculum to best serve their needs.

Once they get to campus, Brooks and her staff help the teachers run through the program and Brooks has even been known to don her old cheerleader uniform to help rouse enthusiasm. She occasionally brings in professional writers who tell the kids about career opportunities.

This year the camps began in early January and ran until the final week before the writing test was given in late February.

“Ideally we would like to add more schools, but principals really like having the camps close to the test and there are only so many weeks available,” Brooks said. “We would love to have more schools participate in the fall semester.”

While writing is the focus of the camps, Brooks says there is also a less apparent purpose — introducing students who might not think about attending college to TCU. After the writing workshops and lunch, students are treated to a mini-tour of campus.

“You can never start too early,” Brooks says. “You have to give kids a hope and a dream, even if they don’t have one for themselves.”

Principals say they are already seeing a difference — not just in their students’ scores, but in their attitudes.

“We serve a population where they don’t always see themselves as college-bound students,” says Sharon Norwood, principal at Parkway Elementary in Crowley. “By coming to TCU and getting kids on a college campus where they can see what it’s like, we’re hoping that they can see college in their future.”

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For more information on the writing camps or the Center for Urban Education, contact Brooks at 817.257.6938 or j.brooks@tcu.edu.

Comment about this story at tcumagazine@tcu.edu.