WriterCoach Connection

Contra Costa Times profiles WriterCoach Connection

Education reporter Shelly Meron writes, "In a time of budget cuts and ballooning class sizes, a new program at El Cerrito High School is giving students individualized attention and helping to improve their writing skills." Check out the full article in the Contra Costa Times.

Bob Menzimer

WriterCoach Connection featured in Oaktown Teen Times

The December 2010 edition of the Oaktown Teen Times features a story by Media Academy student Jazmin Garcia about WriterCoach Connection at Media Academy and Mandela High School. You can access the paper on the WCC website. Hit the News & Events tab at the top of the homepage, then select News Media from the dropdown menu. The WCC story is on Page 3.

WCC has entered its third consecutive year at Media, serving all of teacher Sonja Totten-Harris' tenth-grade students. Writer coaching came to Mandela this fall, serving all tenth graders in the classes of teacher John Nepomuceno. Meantime, we're delighted to announce that WCC will expand to all of Mandela's ninth graders this spring, in the classes of teacher Deborah Juarez.

Courtesy of photographer and Media Academy student Jennifer Truong and the Oaktown Teen Times, here are the coaches at work with students at Mandela.

Bob Menzimer

WriterCoach Connection on the air

Here's the link to the interview about WriterCoach Connection today on KPFA's Education Today program:

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/49144

WCC coach Tim Kingston was especially eloquent about the experience of being a writer coach.

Bob Menzimer

WriterCoach Connection on the air

If you happen to be near a radio at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13, tune in to KPFA (94.1 FM, which may already be a preset on your radios, as it is on all of mine). WriterCoach Connection will be featured on Kitty Kelly Epstein's Education Today. The show will feature call-ins from teachers and students served by WCC.

Bob Menzimer

East Bay Express covers WriterCoach Connection

The Jan. 7, 2009 edition of the East Bay Express included an article by Jocelyn Wiener about WriterCoach Connection, focusing on WCC's expansion to Oakland at Media Academy and quoting Media Principal Ben Schmookler's pleased reaction to the program: "This is the most volunteers I've ever seen." Ben isn't the only person at Media who is pleased to have writer coaches working one on one with Media students. Ms. Wiener describes the reaction of Media tenth graders:

"I thought it was going to be annoying at first," said Lester Finney. "I didn't think it was going to help."

But since then, he and others have changed their minds.

"I like it because they really break things down for us," he said. "We don't never really get one-on-one help with somebody like when we're doing essays. But now we do."

Finney's classmate, Chanthavara Seng, fifteen, agreed enthusiastically.

"I recommend it to everybody in the United States," he said. Finney nodded his support.