A living voice for news, perspective and expressions about WriterCoach Connection and its mission of working one-on-one with students in their English classes to develop their writing and critical thinking skills.
As I write this, Thanksgiving morning has dawned, quiet and peaceful. And that's reason enough to be thankful, since world and national events have made the day far from restful for far too many people. But the day does offer one of the year's best opportunities to think, with overwhelming gratitude, about all the ceaselessly dedicated volunteer coaches (more than 325 this year!) who have made it possible for us to work so effectively with students in Oakland and throughout Albany and Berkeley. If you're one of those coaches, you've earned the respect and admiration of CAFL board and staff members, volunteer and site coordinators, school district staff, school administrators, and teachers all over the East Bay. You've got a big fan club, and you deserve it!
WriterCoach Connection encompasses a wide range of activities, and we'd love to have you hook in with your special talents and interests. Maybe you're not a writer or an editor, but you've always wanted to be: become part of our newsletter team! Maybe you're a complete online geek: help us with the WCC blog or our e-newsletter! Maybe you're one of those people who loves to spread the word about something you believe in: help us with publicity and public relations! Maybe you love to party: help us with special events! Maybe you love to beat the drum to raise money for good causes: help us with fundraising! Maybe you're a real estate agent: help us find affordable office space! And then there's always the possibility that you love to work with kids: you'd be a great writer coach!
Contact us via our website (www.writercoachconnection.org), or reach Executive Director Robert Menzimer at robert at writercoachconnection dot org or 510.528.5066. You won't be unhooked for long!
There are lots of ways to contact us at Community Alliance for Learning, the nonprofit organization that runs WriterCoach Connection. Our website is at www.writercoachconnection.org. Executive Director Robert Menzimer is at robert at writercoachconnection dot org or 510.528.5066. And you can always post a comment or question right here for any of us, including CAFL Associate Director Lynn Mueller, Program Manager Teresa Barnett, or the WCC site coordinators at any of our schools.
If possible, arrive ten minutes early for your coaching session. You'll have a chance to get last-minute information about the assignment from your site coordinator, ask any questions you have about the assignment or the session, and have time to talk with your colleagues, something all coaches love to do and which is much more difficult at the end of the coaching session, when everyone is racing off to attend to other obligations. Be early, for a more rewarding coaching session!
Officials in school districts served by WriterCoach Connection are uniformly enthusiastic about the program.
As the program was being introduced in Oakland for the first time in fall 2008, Jeannie Griffith, Manager of English Language Arts for the Oakland Unified School District, said, "We were very excited to hear the news that we were chosen as a partner with WCC. We're anticipating the individual attention will accelerate the writing achievement of the targeted group at Media Preparatory."
In Berkeley, Assistant Superintendent Neil Smith says, "I have watched WriterCoach Connection grow in impact, scope, and professionalism from its outset in 2001. The district recognizes the important role played by WCC in helping to implement the secondary literacy plan and has full confidence in WCC's commitment to program equity and high standards in all Berkeley secondary schools."
In her position as superintendent of Berkeley Unified School District, Michele Lawrence observed, "Since its inception in 2000, WCC's skilled coaches have provided thousands of students with one-on-one writing sessions. Teachers and principals are keenly aware that these sessions have a significant impact on bridging the achievement gap for underserved students."
Albany Unified School District Superintendent William Wong noted, "There are instructional practices that research has indicated are proven strategies for teaching. WriterCoach Connection is one of those programs. WriterCoach Connection provides the personal interaction that students need for assessment, instruction, immediate feedback, and reinstruction to help all students. I am looking forward to expanding this program to more grade levels."
Every year, Community Alliance for Learning monitors the effectiveness of WriterCoach Connection and publishes the results in its annual Assessment
Report, a benchmark for
monitoring this unique volunteer program that provides one-on-one academic
coaching in writing proficiency for secondary school students in their English
classes. Participating students and teachers respond to surveys designed to
provide feedback on key aspects of the coaching process. Results guide program
improvement and planning and make the program accountable to supporters,
schools, and the public. The full report and this report summary delineate
remarkable results and an exceptional level of engagement by students and
teachers. Here is a summary of the survey assessment results for the most recently completed school year, 2007-08. (The full report is available at www.writercoachconnection.org.)
Student Survey Results
In spring 2008, 1,184 students
from six Albany and Berkeley secondary schools completed a survey
that asked them to rate their experience with eleven aspects of the coaching
process on a four-point scale. The scale ranged from “Not Helpful” to “Very
Helpful.” Mean scores for each aspect on the survey were analyzed. Major results of the student survey are as
follows:
1.Overall, students rated writer coaching as
“Helpful” (Mean = 3.02).
2. The mean score
for helpfulness of eight key aspects of
the writing process was 2.88. Students felt the most helpful aspects of
coaching were “showing me what’s working in my writing” (3.02), “giving me
suggestions for organizing my ideas” (2.99), “checking that I understand the
assignment completely” (2.90), “showing me how to express my ideas more
clearly” (2.89), “reading my work out loud” (2.84), and “making sure I
understand the next steps I need to take to revise my work” (2.84).
The aspects rated notably high, 2.80 and above,
precisely reflect both the energetic interaction between student and coach and
the program’s intent in developing writing and critical thinking skills and in
addressing issues for which teachers most consistently request help for their
students. Student comments further underscore the degree to which coaches help
students clarify their ideas, organize their thoughts, and develop clear, fluid
writing.
Teacher Survey Results
Twenty-five out of twenty-seven teachers completed the program assessment survey. Teachers
answered 17 questions regarding aspects of the coaching process and their
observations regarding degrees of effectiveness in particular areas. The
teacher survey also included evaluation of the helpfulness of coaching for
students with differing skill levels. Major results of the teacher survey are
as follows:
1.All teachers said their writer coaches were
helpful with improving the quality of student writing,with a mean overall score of 3.42.
2.When
asked to compare a recent writing assignment on which students did NOT have
writer coaching with a similar recent assignment on which students DID have
writer coaching, all responding teachers indicated a noticeable improvement in
the rate of assignments turned in, the quality of student work, and the grades
earned. The mean score on this question was 3.45.
3.Every
aspect of the coaching program was rated “Helpful” with a mean score of 3.0 or
above, with the exception of “challenging proficient writers,” which received
the lowest overall mean score, 2.96.
4.Consistent with past years and amplified this year with even
higher scores, the highest mean scores were attained on the two questions
regarding working with site coordinators (mean score: 3.67) and communicating
with site coordinators regarding the goals of the lesson and areas for coaching
emphasis (mean score: 3.64). These responses indicate the high degree to which
WriterCoach Connection is embedded within the curriculum of the schools, and is
recognized by teachers as supporting their existing learning goals for their
students.
5.Teachers
rated writer coaching as “Helpful” to “Very helpful” in the following areas:
improving structure and organization (3.60); helping low-skilled or struggling
writers (3.60); helping English language learner students (3.57); improving
grades on written assignments (3.50); and increasing the number of students
turning in written assignments (3.48). Overall improvement in the quality of student writing received a mean
score of 3.42, and helping students make effective revisions received a mean
score of 3.32.
These survey results echo the results of the past eight years of WriterCoach Connection. This program works!
Six years ago, Albany High School became the locus of WriterCoach Connection's first expansion from its original base in Berkeley. And three years after that, the program expanded again, two blocks to the northwest, to Albany Middle School. The program is now firmly embedded into the English curricula at both schools. Here's how it looked as the 2008-09 school year began.
The WCC site co-coordinators at Albany High, Teresa Barnett and Peg Healy, tell this story about the beginning of the program's sixth year at AHS:
"Wow, I misssed this -- it's so good to be back working with students again," beamed one returning coach after working with three different students on a challenging Maltese Falcon essay. The other coaches on the team echoed the sentiment, and spent a few minutes debriefing and sharing ideas with the two newest coaches to join the team. As we start the sixth year of writer coaching at Albany High School, the usual irregular and fluid conditions prevail. We coach on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, primarily meeting with the sixteen 9th-grade English classes, with three of the five teachers new to the 9th grade program. We're also occasionally available for seven other mixed-grade classes of English language learners, whose students and teachers are especially appreciative. Of our roster of 45 wonderful and flexible coaches, 11 are new to coaching this year. Between mid-October and November 6th we completed over 330 individual coaching sessions! We hope to see most 9th grade English students about six times each by the end of April.
Over at Albany Middle School, site co-coordinator Karen Larson can hardly believe the program is already heading into its third straight year; she was the original site coordinator at AMS, and she's still there. Karen and her coordinating partner this year, Nancy Whitney, sailed into the program with the same degree of gusto that has characterized the program every year, buoyed by the staunch support of Albany Middle School principal Robin Davis, herself a writing teacher, and her dedicated staff of four eighth-grade English teachers. Here's what Karen and Nancy have to say:
Sometimes the fall brings heat and
sometimes it brings rain, but one thing is sure: at Albany Middle School fall
brings writer coaches to the 8th grade English classes!
Newly trained coaches join an
ever-growing cadre of experienced coaches in our third year at AMS. So
far this year we have been able to work on several assignments that have helped
us to get to know the students. We have
coached them on an essay exploring “Three Sides of Me,” where the students write
about one of their characteristics from the perspective of someone who knows
them well. We started working with them
on their Mandala project where students explore their sun and shadow sides through
animals, weather, plants, and so on. We
also got to know what is important to our students in the letters they wrote to
the next president to be published on Google Docs.
Students have also been able to
bring their own voice to history studies by writing a children’s book
describing Columbus’ first meeting with the Americans. Their creativity is stretched on their work
on a newspaper inspired by their reading of “The Light in the Forest,” written
partially from the perspective of the Native Americans and in part from the
perspective of the white settlers.
We have been in every 8th grade class
so far. In the 375 coaching sessions
conducted so far, we have been able to coach almost every 8th grade
student at AMS. Not a bad way to kick off the fall!
In all three Berkeley middle schools and at Berkeley High, coaches and students began pairing up in October for conversations about the students' writing assignments, the continuation of a writer coach program that has spread to three East Bay communities but that began in Berkeley, at BHS, in 2001.
At Willard Middle School, WriterCoach Connection coordinator Jeanine Brown reports:
"We
started the year off with a bang at Willard on October 16 and 17 with a
fabulous mix of eager seasoned and new coaches, including a super crop of Cal
students. The 8th graders
have been quite enthusiastic about coaching and many have already established
bonds with their coaches. It’s always
rewarding to look around the coaching room and see students actively engaged
with their coaches, one on one. So far
we’ve worked on Autobiographical Incidents, Persuasive Essays on Junk Food in
School, Letters to the Future President,
and Book Reviews. Teachers continue to
appreciate the increase in completed turned-in work after coaching sessions."
Veteran WCC coach trainer and site coordinator Kathleen Hallam oversees WCC at King Middle School. Here's what Kathleen says about the start of coaching there for the 2008-09 school year:
"Enthusiastic
new volunteers joined King’s many loyal veterans to make the start up of the
coaching year in mid-October a great success. Six teams of coaches met with the students of 12 English classes and
worked with them on a variety of assignments, from getting started on book
evaluations in Ms. Felarca’s classes to planning revisions on two successive
drafts of Mr. Conley’s “No More Homework” essay. Teachers told me they could tell right away
how much coaching had helped most kids move ahead with their work and meet
higher expectations of themselves as writers.
"Sometimes
I’m able to take a little break from coaching to observe and listen, and what I
see and hear is inspiring. In light-filled Room 125, every table and countertop
is taken up with adults and students sitting side by side having warm
conversations about the students’ ideas and how they are expressed. This being Berkeley, the pairs were
particularly animated when we worked on Mr. Selk’s election-issues assignment,
with both students and coaches well informed and passionate. Considering how serious we are about our
work, it’s surprising and delightful to see so much smiling going on.
"More
coaches are being trained now, and a number of other members of our very
supportive King community have said they will come on board after the
holidays. We look forward to having them
join us."
Two site coordinators run WCC at Longfellow Middle School. Here's how Annie Stine and Mark Pasley describe the launch of WCC at Longfellow this fall:
"Coaching
is in full gallup at Longfellow, where our 50 volunteers work, laugh, and share
their love of words
with five eighth-grade and five seventh-grade classes. A few of the older kids
we coached last year
even smiled and waved at their former coaches when we entered their classrooms
in October; to be not
only remembered, but remembered fondly is an unexpected and treasured gift.
Being able to see the kids
grow from semi-sweet tweens to oh-so-cool teens is only one of the myriad
benefits of coaching both
grades.
"So far
this year we've helped the seventh graders review and revise their district
writing assessments ("Oh,
yeah, I guess maybe I did forget to
write a thesis statement . . ."); describe their favorite color ("I like
red because it's so brave and from my heart . . ."); and compose
compare-and-contrast paragraphs ("Do
you think I should do it on my dog and my hamster or on Islam and
Christianity?"). The eighth-graders
have been working hard on personal essays about turning points in their lives;
argumentative essays
on whether to abolish the electoral college; and persuasive essays on George's
killing of Lennie
in Of
Mice and Men. Little did our new coaches know they would become experts on so
many subjects so very
quickly.
"When
things are humming in the writers' room, Mark and I sometimes just look at each
other and smile and
shrug, unable to believe our great good fortune in being able to do such good
work with such amazing
volunteers, teachers, and kids. We are truly grateful."
Over on Allston Way, WCC works with the ninth and tenth-grade students at the Community Partnerships Academy at Berkeley High. Site coordinator Sahib-Amar Khalsa begins her description of the start of coaching for 2008-09 with a question:
"Q: What makes writer coaching
successful?
"A: A dynamic group of coaches, enthusiastic students and supportive
teachers.
"If this is true, then Berkeley High School has what it takes. With
our first sessions for each of the 9th and 10th grade
classes of Community Partnerships Academy under our belt, we are already
receiving rave reviews from both students and teachers. With many returning
coaches from last year, together with an enthusiastic and highly competent crop
of new coaches, our team is very impressive. After our first day of coaching
her 10th grade classes, Susannah Bell wrote that she was thrilled. “The students kept coming by my room and
talking about their experience with their coach. I think it was very empowering
for them, as I heard them speaking very proudly of their writing. A couple of
the students got the same coaches as last year and it seemed to reinforce the
good feeling they were having about themselves, since in those cases the coach
commented on how they had grown as writers.… I mean, most of them (kids and
coaches) were beaming after the session. The interaction made me feel proud of
our students, but I have to tell you that your coaches were so warm and
receptive - it seems like the WCC has done some excellent work with training
the adults to be really encouraging and supportive AND sincere (which is
something that is very important to the students). Next time I will bring my
camera!” What a great note to start the year!"
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!
Connecting is what we do when a WriterCoach Connection volunteer sits down in class with a student to work on a writing assignment, and connecting is what we hope all WCC stakeholders--Community Alliance for Learning board members and staff, WCC volunteer and site coordinators, CAFL and WCC affiliates, and most especially our volunteer writer coaches--will use this blog for. Welcome to our community of people passionately committed to the mission of helping students develop writing and critical thinking skills!
