WriterCoach Connection

WCC makes an impact in Oakland

Over the past year, our Oakland WriterCoach Connection site, Media Academy, achieved the highest Academic Performance Index (API) gain of any high school in the district--a giant leap of 79 points that exceeded Media's API growth target by a full 65 points.

We would never try to occupy the spotlight in recognition of achievement like this, when the proper bows should be taken by the hard-working district staff, the Media administrative and teaching staff, and Media students and families. But we are really excited to see Media's API gain, and grateful to Jeannie Johnson, director of College and Career Readiness for the Oakland Unified School District, who commented, "I was thrilled to see Media's improvement this year. Congratulations on your good work!"

The Academic Performance Index (API) is based on test-score performance through a two-year cycle. The base score is for the first year and the growth score is for the second. The scale is 200 to 1,000 and the statewide goal for all schools is 800. Media Academy's base score for 2008 was 521, the growth target was 535 and their growth result was a remarkable 600.

We hope to expand writer coaching at Media Academy this year to include not only the tenth graders but the twelfth-grade students as well, working on their Senior Projects. Media Academy is on a roll, and we're privileged and proud to be part of it!

Robert Menzimer

Oakland students' feedback on WCC: Off the charts!

At Media Academy in Oakland, the students being served by WCC volunteers have spoken, and did they get our attention! Preliminary results from this year's program assessment at Media offer powerful testament to student appreciation and support for WriterCoach Connection. EVERY tenth-grade student, without exception, indicated that coaching overall was helpful to some degree--not a single student said that coaching was not helpful. The average score for WCC on student surveys, on a scale of 4.0, was 3.37, the highest of all three high schools that WCC serves. And this from an age group not noted for expressing unbridled enthusiasm for things academic.

Specific comments from the students indicate that the Media students really appreciate the help, the individual attention they get from coaches, and the fact that coaches listen to the students' ideas and help them articulate what they are trying to get down on paper.

No wonder our coaches love volunteering at Media!

Bob Menzimer

The faces behind the artistry

A few items down, we described the bright new WriterCoach Connection volunteer recruiting flyer designed by a couple of Media Academy students working under the guidance of teacher Howard Ruffner. The students are Elizabeth Rodriguez, who fashioned the graphics and layout of the flyer, and Ronald Johnson, who shot the photos. We thought it would be nice to show these talented students to you, so here they are, below.

Bob Menzimer

Media Academy students create striking new flyer for WCC

In Oakland, the Media Academy students of desktop publisher teacher Howard Ruffner have created an eye-opening WriterCoach Connection flyer (see below). It captures the spirit and the substance of the WCC mission with colorful appeal and wondrous skill.

Elizabeth Rodriguez created the overall design and wrote the copy for the flyer, and aspiring photographer Ronald Johnson captured the photo images. Both students are seniors and plan to matriculate to California State University/Chico next year.

We're delighted to have this example of Media students' graphics and marketing savvy and plan to give it wide distribution as we continue to recruit new coach volunteers.

All right, Elizabeth and Ronald!  Thank you!

Bob Menzimer

WCC is off and running at Media Academy!

WriterCoach Connection was launched successfully at Media Academy in Oakland's Fruitvale district in October, thanks to months of hard work by CAFL board chair Kathy Kahn, volunteer coordinators Lynn Mueller and Eliza Clark, site coordinators Lisa Awrey and Clara Sneed, and coach trainer and coordination mentor Kathleen Hallam; superb support from Media principal Ben Schmookler and tenth-grade teacher Sonja Totten-Harris; and, most especially, dedicated effort by more than forty volunteer writer coaches.

It's gratifying to all of us to finally have made it to Oakland, and we look forward to working with Media students this year!