826 Seattle, an after-school reading and writing program, and the Young Shakespeare Workshop are recipients of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards, considered the country’s highest honor in the field of after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs.

The organizations are among 12 that will receive awards Nov. 2 in a White House ceremony hosted by first lady Michelle Obama, the honorary chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The awards focus on programs that reach underserved children and youth and include a $10,000 prize.

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs’ Youth Arts program funded 826 Seattle in 2010 for a series of artist-led workshops. 826 offers both in- and out-of-school arts programs along with teacher training. Youth Arts will fund the Young Shakespeare Workshop in 2012 for a summer-long series that will offer youth instruction and rehearsal in Shakespearean theater. The Young Shakespeare Workshop also offers bilingual Shakespearean acting instruction in Spanish.

Read about the awards in today’s Seattle Times.