Virginia Middle School’s Cursive Club Revives a Lost Art

Holmes Middle School teacher inspires students to master cursive writing through games, practice, and confidence-building lessons

Published November 9, 2025

At Holmes Middle School in Lincolnia, Virginia, English teacher Sherisse Kenerson is helping students rediscover a nearly forgotten skill: cursive writing.

Each week, about a dozen students gather after school for Kenerson’s Cursive Club, where she teaches everything from how to form letters to how to connect them smoothly without lifting the pencil. “A lot of students don’t know how to do it,” Kenerson told WTOP.

During a recent session, students practiced writing “M” and “N” before competing to list as many proper nouns as they could beginning with a specific letter. Winners earned extra candy — but everyone left with improved handwriting. “I figured it’d be a way to kind of introduce it to them and, hopefully, get them passionate enough about it that they’ll keep doing it,” Kenerson said to WTOP News.

Kenerson, who began teaching at Holmes four years ago, started the club to engage more with students and staff. Though she jokes it’s the school’s “least exciting” club, she says it might be the most useful. “The fact that they decide to come back, that really gives me thrills,” she said.

For many students, the benefits go beyond penmanship. Sixth grader Marwa Lakroune said she joined because she expects to need cursive in high school. “You don’t pick up the pencil, and your hand doesn’t really cramp up all the time,” she said. Another student described cursive as “almost fraud proof,” since no one can perfectly copy another person’s signature.

Former club member Sandi Chande said the practice helped her gain confidence. “I hope to sign checks, and I hope to read the Constitution,” she said. (RELATED: Passing The Torch: Spanberger, Youngkin Meet For Smooth Transition)

While Fairfax County schools introduce cursive in elementary grades, Kenerson’s club provides the consistency and encouragement many students need to master it. Sixth grader Sarah Stephens summed up the long-term goal: “When I get older, I’m probably going to have to sign documents and stuff… I’ll be able to have my own way of doing it.”