Benefits

Our effective and inspired instruction has enabled our Teen Mentorship Program students to win awards and be published every year of our program. We provide virtual instructional sessions followed by writing assignments and revisions of those writing assignments based on teacher feedback.  

Our professional faculty will mentor you by using individual feedback and focused instruction in addition to their writing, editing, and publication experience.

We bring the fun of writing to you while also helping you attain additional writing skills. This is a positive environment for you to explore your love of writing and reading, while also beginning to submit your polished pieces to writing contests, and to journals and magazines offering publication opportunities.

Skills Acquisition

Exciting opportunities for the enjoyment of the writing arts will be featured:

• focused discussion with a Christ-centered basis;

• instruction in writing poetry, fiction, and personal essay;

• monthly virtual meetings on a Saturday morning;

• peer-to-peer critique with a teacher’s monitoring;

• financial sponsorship for contest entries, and

•  strategic assessment of publication opportunities. 

Professional Skills

In addition to writing craft skills, you will get the chance to practice in a supportive environment the “soft” skills that professional writers use in their careers:

• re-writing to meet a deadline

•  reading, then assessing other writers’ work product

• listening to oral presentations then assessing them

• learning new vocabulary

• stretching the boundaries of what you read and how much you read in print materials

• learning how being a writer can be a Catholic vocation in the arts

Monthly Virtual Meetings

• Virtual meetings will held monthly (with the exception of the month of December) on Saturday mornings during the academic year 2026-2027. There is no meeting in the month of December.

• Attendance is mandatory, unless coordinator approval is given before class to miss a class. All homework and critique expectations will be met on a timely manner.

2026-2027 Schedule

• Thursday, August 27, 2026 (6:30-7:30 pm, CDT): Virtual Orientation Session for Parents and Students

• Saturday, September 12, 2026 (10-11:15 am, CDT): Online Session

• Saturday, October 3, 2026, 10 a.m. to 1;0 p.m. (In-person Writing Date at the Menil Museum followed by lunch at an area restaurant.) In-Person Session

• Saturday, October 10, 2026 (10-11:15 am, CDT): Online Session

• Saturday, November 14, 2026 (10-11:15 am, CDT): Online Session

• Friday, November 27, 2026: Typical Scholastic Writing Contest Deadline, SUBJECT TO CHANGE 

• Saturday, January 9, 2027 (10-11:15 am, CST): Online Session

• Saturday, February 13, 2027 (10-11:15 am, CST): Online Session

• Saturday, March 13, 2027 (10-11:15 am, CST): Online Session

• Saturday, April 10, 2027 (10-11:15 am, CST): Online Session

Expectations

Please read through these expectations for applicants before applying:

• Registration in high school or in a high-school level home-school course of study. The minimum age is 14 years. Apply directly to CLA for exceptional circumstances.

• Mandatory use of Google Classroom to access virtual teaching sessions and to turn in homework. [See the next bullet point, please.]

• Google Classroom access must be set up before the first session on September 12, 2026. If this is not possible, then the student will forfeit his or her spot in the Teen Mentorship program for the current academic year.

• Parents will provide a parental email address and telephone number to be used for all communication between CLA faculty/staff and students.

• Attendance at monthly virtual sessions and completion of writing exercises by the due date.

• Students agree to submit a minimum of one entry to a contest or publication approved by CLA during the academic year’s schedule of virtual meetings. Each submission will be determined by conferring with CLA faculty who will support the students in editing and revision. Submission to the Scholastic Arts and Writing competition is mandatory.

• Students, parents, and CLA faculty/staff will follow Safe Environment guidelines of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

• Each student and at least one parent will attend the Orientation session in August as stated below.

• Students will attend six virtual teaching sessions between September 2026 and April 2027. A student will automatically forfeit his or his participation in this program for two non-attendance in the virtual teaching Saturday sessions without prior approval by the coordinator AND completion of the month’s assignments.

• Students will complete a one-page essay by April 20, 2027. summarizing their experiences in the Mentorship Program.

Progress Reports

We give parents a mid-year progress report to help them see how many sessions each student has attended along with other parameters.  The goal is to assist parents and their son or daughter to adjust at mid-year, if necessary, to honor the commitments made to this program.

We are absolutely committed to each student’s participation and learning; we anticipate that each student will want to learn and let us know how we can serve his or her learning style the best.

Please reach out to us at any time with questions and information to help us serve you to the best of our abilities within the program’s parameters.

Deadlines

This year’s cohort will be selected from applications submitted between the dates of June 1, 2026, and August 1, 2026.

Each selected student and one parent must attend a virtual Information Session on Thursday August 27, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.. At that meeting, you will receive the following items:

• the academic year’s schedule, including due dates for writing assignments, and

• the software requirements and procedures.

The cost of this program is $600, which may be paid in one payment by check or Paypal. The acceptance letter will include instructions for payment.

Applications

Applications may be submitted by email until 11:59 p.m., CDT on August 1, 2026.

Please email your application package to cathla.org@gmail.com [Subject line: Application for Teen Mentorship Program.]

Your application must include the following:

• a statement from the student's parent(s) or legal guardian giving the student permission to apply and be included in the program, if selected,

• a one-page letter from the student saying why he/she wishes to participate in the program and what he or she hopes to learn,

• a two-page writing sample, either prose or poetry, or both. Student’s name must appear on each page.

• A statement from the student and one parent that the writing sample is original writing from the student and that no AI technology was used in generating the writing sample.

• contact email and telephone number for parent/s.

The application deadline is August 1, 2026, 11:59 p.m., CDT

Please understand that each year we receive more applications than we have room for in this program.  Only a few limited spots are available. However, we do have a waiting list, and if your application is already completed, we will contact you if an opening occurs.

We encourage you to use the waiting list option if your application is not accepted in the first round of acceptances. Sometimes we have openings in the first or second month if a student has to drop out.

Email us or call if you have questions: 713-331-9342 or cathla.org@gmail.com