What We Do

Training

The Freedom Writers Teacher Institute
helps educators empower all of their students.

Outreach

Freedom Writer Outreach Events aren't just presentations.
They are life-changing experiences.

Curriculum

These books and resources help educators
#BetheTeacher they want to see in the world.

Scholarships

Your donation to the Freedom Writers Scholarship Fund
helps first-generation college students fulfill their dreams.

Who We Are

10th Anniversary Freedom Writers Diary Black and White Cover

Our Story

In 1994, Long Beach was a racially divided community filled with drugs, gang warfare, and homicides, and the tensions on the streets had carried into the school halls. When idealistic first-year teacher Erin Gruwell walked into Room 203 at Wilson High School, her students had already been labeled "unteachable." But Gruwell believed in something more...

Freedom Writers Foundation Founder and Educator and Author Erin Gruwell

Erin Gruwell

Erin Gruwell is a teacher, an author, and the founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation. By fostering an educational philosophy that values and promotes diversity, Erin transformed her students' lives. Through the Freedom Writers Foundation, she currently teaches educators around the world how to implement her innovative lesson plans into their own classrooms.

Original Freedom Writers hosting the Freedom Writers Teachers Institute at Hotel Maya in Long Beach CA

Freedom Writers

On their first day of high school, Erin Gruwell's students had only three things in common: they hated school, they hated each other, and they hated her. But all of that changed when they discovered the power of telling their stories. Against all odds, all of 150 of them went on to graduate, become published authors, and start a world-wide movement to change the education system as we know it.

Connect

Listen to the Podcast

The Freedom Writers Podcast is a show about
education and how it can change the world.

Did you know?

Your organization can host a Documentary Screening with a Q&A featuring Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers.

Freedom Writers Story from the Heart Documentary Poster Transparency about the Freedom Writers and Freedom Writers Foundation \

Contact us

Give us a call or send us a note! Our attentive staff will respond to you personally.

Donate

You Can
Make a Difference

Your donation directly supports our efforts to empower
educators to better serve their most vulnerable students.