About Story Pirates
Imagine you’re back in elementary school, sitting in your packed school auditorium. Onstage are incredible performers and musicians, presenting stories written by kids from all around the country. One of the actors announces, “This NEXT story was written by… YOU.” The room goes wild! Everyone around you screams and applauds, and you and your peers watch as the Story Pirates perform the story that YOU WROTE. The experience lasts just a few minutes, but the impact can last a lifetime.
Story Pirates was founded in 2004 to celebrate the words, ideas and stories of young people. At a time when so many kids today have negative feelings about school, Story Pirates visits hundreds of schools across the country each year, providing awe-inspiring learning experiences that can dramatically improve children’s perspective on their own education.
Our curriculum aligns with widely adopted standards for English Language Arts, while also providing a rich and reflective artistic experience. Our programs push the boundaries of traditional enrichment to tackle substantive educational goals, such as vocabulary development, story structure, revision, and confident self-expression.
Since our first pilot program in a single Harlem school, Story Pirates has invited tens of thousands of students to see their words and ideas come to life on stage, and watched as, one by one, these children began to call themselves writers. Through our Story Love initiative, every young author we work with receives a handwritten note from the Story Pirates, offering them personalized, positive feedback and encouraging them to write more.
Kids across the country are yearning for the opportunity to ignite their curiosity, engage their imaginations, and discover that writing isn't just about test-taking; it's about communication. This spring, we’re raising money to visit more schools, so we can tell more kids that their words and ideas matter.
Join us and help change these kids’ lives, one story at a time.
Support Story Pirates
Kids across the country are yearning for the opportunity to ignite their curiosity, engage their imaginations, and discover that writing isn't just about test-taking; it's about communication. This spring, we’re raising money to visit more schools, so we can tell more kids that their words and ideas matter.
Join us and help change these kids' lives, one story at a time.
Your Donation Will Benefit:
PS 73 BRONX
- Number of Students: 872
- Free Lunch: 95%
- Average arts instructional hours per class on an annual basis (Theater): 0
- Number of Full-Time Certified Arts Teachers: 0
- Number of Part-Time Certified Arts Teachers (Visual Arts): 1
- Number of Story Pirates workshops in 2014 - 2015: 52
PS 277 BRONX
- Number of Students: 583
- Free Lunch: 95%
- Average arts instructional hours per class on an annual basis (Theater): 11-20
- Number of Full-Time Certified Arts Teachers (Music): 1
- Number of Part-Time Certified Arts Teachers: 0
- Number of Story Pirates workshops in 2014 - 2015: 24
"As talented and genuinely funny as all of the performers are, my absolute favorite part of Story Pirates is the premise of using kids words. I think for children to know that their words and stories and things they have to say are important enough for grownups to read and say and interpret is valuable. I just LOVE that!"
— Sorrel Barnard, Parent
PS 81 BROOKLYN
- Number of Students: 524
- Free Lunch: 92%
- Average arts instructional hours per class on an annual basis (Theater): 32 - 50
- Number of Full-Time Certified Arts Teachers: 0
- Number of Part-Time Certified Arts Teachers: 1 (Visual Arts)
- Number of Story Pirates workshops in 2014 - 2015: 48
Brooklyn Landmark
- Number of Students: 183
- Free Lunch: 100%
- Number of Story Pirates workshops in 2014 - 2015: 32
"Our children benefited from the knowledge that kids just like them and living through the same difficulties as they are were able to write stories that were performed on stage. I think it was a very motivating experience."
— Non-profit Administrator
PS 160 QUEENS
- Number of Students: 858
- Free Lunch: 92%
- Average arts instructional hours per class on an annual basis (Theater): 1 - 10
- Number of Full-Time Certified Arts Teachers (Music): 1
- Number of Part-Time Certified Arts Teachers: 0
- Number of Story Pirates workshops in 2014 - 2015: 32
PS 15 MANHATTAN
- Number of Students: 259
- Free Lunch: 100%
- Average arts instructional hours per class on an annual basis (Theater): 1 - 30
- Number of Full-Time Certified Arts Teachers: 0
- Number of Part-Time Certified Arts Teachers: 0
- Number of Story Pirates workshops in 2014 - 2015: 24
"We love everything about Story Pirates! Seeing the kids' stories come to life and witnessing their reactions is priceless. The shows are always hilarious and well-done and it's a pleasure working with the Story Pirates staff. Getting each individual story back with personal feedback is really special for our kids: knowing someone took the time to read their story, think about it, and give constructive feedback is a great motivator."
— Jessica Sloan, School Administrator
CHAPMAN ELEMENTARY
- Number of Students: 420
- Free Lunch: 81%
"Story Pirates not only helped improve my student's writing strategies and conventions, but also created a renewed enthusiasm that continues even now."
— Sean Nielsen, Teacher, LAUSD
What is Story Love?
At Story Pirates, we still remember the thrill of an approving teacher’s remark, and we recall the electrifying rush of receiving a supportive, handwritten note. Story Love is our way of showing students that we have read their stories and care about what they have to say. Each year, Story Pirates helps tens of thousands of children write a complete, original story, but we are only able to perform a handful of these stories at schools across the country. Through our Story Love program, we provide positive, personalized feedback for each and every story created in our writing workshops. Here is what one student had to say about Story Love:
Dear Story Pirates,Sign-Up for Story Love
I would like to thank you for taking your time and reading my story about Emily and the cute boy Josh. Also I want to thank you for coming to our school and class and letting us make up a story for you to pick out, then performing them. Even though my story didn’t get picked, I still thank you because I know that you read my story because you wrote a comment on the back of my story. Thank you for that comment it was very sweet. I like the program because it was funny and sweet because they did not only pick our stories they also picked stories from other schools. Story Pirates, I hope you had fun and enjoyed performing the storyies I really had fun and enjoyed it. I hope you did too!
— Stephanie, PS 51 in Hells Kitchen
