Houston, TX

Writers in the Schools

EIN 76-0338549

Education & Youth Development Youth Arts & Creative Learning Children & youth

Mission

To connect children and youth with professional writers and spoken word artists to unlock the joy and power of storytelling and creative expression.

IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity Contributions are tax-deductible

Claim this page Visit www.witshouston.org

About Writers in the Schools

Writers in the Schools (WITS) is a Houston-based 501(c)(3) literary arts education nonprofit founded in 1983 that places professional writers and spoken-word artists in K–12 classrooms, community sites, and summer programs to strengthen students' creative and analytical writing skills.

WITS operates yearlong residencies, after-school workshops, summer camps, teacher professional development, and youth leadership programs (including the Houston Youth Poet Laureate and the Meta-Four youth poetry fellowship). The organization reports serving tens of thousands of children and teachers annually through hundreds of classroom placements across the Houston region.

In recent years WITS has focused on district expansion, partnership-based programming with civic institutions, and a hybrid mix of in-person and virtual offerings to reach more schools and community sites across Greater Houston.

Notable achievements

Meta-Four Houston — National Slam Title

Meta-Four Houston, WITS’s youth slam poetry team and fellowship, achieved national recognition by being named the top youth slam poetry team in the country in 2023.

40th Anniversary and Community Gala

WITS celebrated its 40th anniversary with a major gala in 2023 that honored the organization’s founder and longstanding partners while raising funds to support school-based residencies and youth programming.

Program Expansion through Major Grants

In the 2023–2025 period WITS secured foundation and corporate grant funding to pilot district expansion and add classrooms and community sites (including targeted expansion into additional Houston-area school districts), increasing the number of students served.

At a glance

Total assets: $1.8M
Annual revenue: $1.6M
Tax status: 501(c)(3)Public charity
EIN: 76-0338549
Location: Houston, TX
Website: www.witshouston.org
On Mahalo since: May 2026

Financial figures from the IRS Business Master File, the IRS’s registry of tax-exempt organizations.

Recognition

Longstanding city and civic partnerships — WITS co-sponsors the Houston Youth Poet Laureate program in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and the Houston Public Library, positioning WITS as a city-recognized literacy and youth-voice leader.

Established, accredited nonprofit presence — WITS appears on nonprofit registries and donor-research platforms as an active 501(c)(3) organization (EIN 76-0338549) with publicly available IRS Form 990s and financial reports.

National leadership in literary education — WITS serves as a model and convener for writers-as-teaching-artists through the WITS Alliance and citywide youth programming that have been cited by local arts and education outlets.

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