We're grateful to Oakland Local for taking up WCC's call for volunteers at Fremont High! Here's what they said:
""It's been great to see my students, wary at first, now opening up to sharing their writing with a new audience," says teacher Sonja Totten-Harris.
Totten-Harris says she also appreciates the feedback that WCC site coordinators give teachers in addition to the feedback they give students. "[The site coordinators] were great thinking partners about the assignments—what was working, what wasn't. They provided a useful outside perspective."
WriterCoach volunteers form important bonds with students, and both coaches and students can be inspired by the experience. Totten-Harris believes that students become validated when they realize there are people ready to listen to their thoughts. It's often not until someone is willing to listen that kids learn that they even have something to say, but that's only the first step. Through coaching, students also begin to learn that their ideas matter. Especially in Oakland, such a revelation can make a lasting impression. Just this fall, the Mejia twins, sisters who both graduated from Fremont High and were coached through WriterCoach Connection, began their first semester at Yale University."
Check out the full story—and be sure to register to volunteer!
Camille (Cami) GravesOakland Volunteer Coordinator