Rochelle Melander wrote her
first book when she was seven
and has been writing ever
since—on desks, in the margins
of notebooks, wherever she can
find some blank space. Rochelle
has published nine books,
including the award-winning A
Generous Presence. Rochelle
has a BA in Theater and
Communication, two Masters
degrees, a graduate certificate
from Coach University, and has
received additional training
from the National Writing
Project.
If you asked Rochelle why she
writes, she’d tell you that
writing has saved her life more
than once. Rochelle sees writing
as alchemy—a process that allows
her to spin life’s challenges
into something rich and
beautiful. Rochelle’s work with
students has emerged from her
writing experience and her study
of positive psychology and
narrative therapy. Based on this
research, Rochelle has developed
journaling exercises that
support young people in making
sense of their lives and
imagining a better future.
Through Dream
Keepers, Author and Coach Rochelle
Melander
teaches young people how to use
writing to make sense of their
lives and capture their dreams.
The
Dream Keepers Program provides
a weekly writing space for tweens
and teens to discuss good writing
and create their own. The young
people publish their writing on
their blog. The Dream Keepers have
had great success—they have been
featured twice on WUWM’s Lake Effect
and were winners in Schwartz
bookstore’s 2008 six-word memoir
contest.
Join us!
Who knows what you’ll achieve? Young people from
5th-12th grade are welcome to
participate in our weekly Milwaukee
Group. The program is free
and open to the public.
A Note from
Dream Keepers’ Founder, Rochelle
Melander I started Dream
Keepers in 2006 with a small group
of teen girls from Milwaukee’s inner
city. We named ourselves “Dream
Keepers,” after a poem by Langston
Hughes. Hughes believed that writers
were the dream keepers of the
community. We are! As someone who
makes a living as a writer and
coach—a dream keeper—I want to
support young people in becoming
dream keepers. I have no doubt that
this work transforms lives right
now. And I know that Dream Keepers
will grow. It has to—Milwaukee’s
8th-grade African American students
score the lowest in the nation in
writing. That’s crazy—and wrong.
Dream Keepers can change that. Then
we can work on my other dreams for
the program—becoming a national
program to transform the lives of
young people through writing.
Why
do teens need to write? • Writing makes you
smarter. Studies show that young
people who practice any type of
writing will write better than those
who do not. In addition, people who
write down their deepest thoughts,
feelings, and dreams are healthier,
happier, and have better success
achieving their goals.
• Writing improves your reading
scores. In a recent study, young
people who had failed reading
comprehension participated in a
twelve-week writing workshop,
completing their own books. Reading
comprehension scores improved
dramatically. • Writing gets you the
job. In a recent study from the
National Commission on Writing,
“people who cannot write and
communicate clearly will not be
hired.” At least half of the
companies surveyed stated that they
took writing into consideration for
hiring and promotion. And get this:
More than eighty percent of “the
companies in the services and the
finance, insurance, and real estate
(FIRE) sectors, the corporations
with the greatest employment growth
potential, assess writing during
hiring.”
Intrigued?
Read my
Dream Keepers
Blog to
discover what the DKs are doing
right now and to read some of their
writing!
Inspired?
Soon you will be able to donate your
time, books,
and supplies for our
work. Check back for more
information!
Bring me all of your
dreams,
You dreamers,
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue
cloud-cloth
Away from the
too-rough fingers
Of the world
Write Now! Weekly
Tips
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Did you know that
regular writing
could improve your
students’ test
scores? You can hire
Rochelle Melander,
the Right Now!
Coach, to turn your
students (and their
teachers) into Dream
Keepers. Rochelle
offers imaginative
and fun workshops
for students from
1st -12th grade.
Workshops include:
Poetry: Writing
Haiku and More; The
Six-Word Memoir;
Writing Your Happily
Ever After:
Journaling to
Achieve Goals.
Contact the
Right Now! Coach
to learn more and to
set up your school
visit.
Listen to the Dream
Keepers
on WUWM
Always Write!
Podcast
Write Now! coach
Rochelle Melander
interviews authors,
editors, and
publishing
professionals about
how to write and how
to break into book
publishing.
