WriterCoach Connection

Berkeley school superintendent visits WriterCoach Connection volunteers in action

Earlier this month, Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Bill Huyett visited our writer coaches in action with 8th-grade students at King Middle School in Berkeley. As the photo below clearly demonstrates, Mr. Huyett remained actively engaged throughout his visit, sitting with individual coach-student pairs for a very close look at the magic of writer coaching.

BUSD Superintendent Bill Huyett is clearly focused on the connection between WCC coach Jacquie Hale and a King Middle School student during a site visit in early December.

Bob Menzimer

The Word about writer coaching from Longfellow students

We can stare at a blank page all we want, trying to figure out how to convey the essence of writer coaching, to communicate the value of what we do in the classroom. But sometimes it's best to just get out of the way and let students tell the story. Here are some comments from Berkeley students at Longfellow Middle School as they completed work with their writer coaches this spring.

"I appreciate that you help me with my writing. I don't know why a person as smart as you would be teaching middle school but thank you and I'm so lucky to have someone like you and that means something because I don't believe in luck.Thank you and I hope to work with you again." 

"I liked when we were both wearing pink on the same day! I like when you always listen to me when I have to say something."

"I wanted to thank you for coming by and taking time out of your day to help me. I appreciate when you gave me ideas when I didn't have anything to write. Last but not least I wanted to thank you for not giving up on me when things got rough n' always telling me good job."

"I really appreciate you guys/ladies coming in and helping us with our writing. Thank you so much for  correct punctuation & spelling and helping us make our writing better. I really love how you guys/ladies found ways to make our writing better by using the ideas we already had in mind or on the paper. I'm so grateful we have the chance to have writing coaches because not everyone has that type of opportunity. Writing coaches helped not only me but a lot of my friends. I want to show my appreciation for how you  would try to understand what was already written and didn't criticize it but still found ways to help make it more academic or even better. I'm glad you guys were here."

"Thanks for helping me realize my mistakes. If you hadn't helped me with my writing I would have had a lot of mistakes which would've been bad. I also appreciated it when listening to my writing or reading with me. When you listened to me I felt good because that means that you cared and wanted to help me."

Want to see a visual representation of this emotion? Here's coach Nettie Hoge, with a Longfellow student:

 Put yourself in this picture! Fall coach training classes are starting soon, and you can sign up here.

Bob Menzimer

Think writer coaches take the summer off? Think again!

This illuminating account describing the particular dedication and rewards of writer coaching is from veteran WCC volunteer Kent Wright:

Summer is not just for making sorbets.   For some eighth graders in Berkeley it means summer school.  For some teachers that means a challenging few weeks, and for a few writer coaches it means pitching in to help.  At Longfellow we coached for three weeks the writing of an essay on “Attitude.”  It was not always easy, but it definitely had high points.

The final Tuesday morning the coaches gathered around a still locked door to our room while someone searched for the illusive man with the key.  On the opposite side of the hallway, our students had begun to collect before a similarly locked door.  Within minutes their teacher arrived and greeted them with, “X______ take off your hat!” rolled her eyes in our direction as if to say, “Can you believe it?” and repeated the order about the hat.  We soon learned that teacher couldn’t locate the essay drafts the students had turned in and which we were supposed to whip into final form that morning.*  While Priscilla (a terrific leader) went off to see what might be salvaged of the situation, the rest of us began to discuss what me might do.   The ideas began to flow back and forth, and quickly it became a mini-workshop full of suggestions for how we could offer our students something valuable in lieu of the essay.   The level enthusiasm was high, and the dedication to the WriterCoach Connection program was obvious and infectious. Everyone was ready to rise to the challenge.   Priscilla returned.   The teacher had located some of the papers.  The number of students left in the class had dwindled to a precious few, which meant each of us would coach one or two students and then take them to the computer room to get the essays typed and printed.  We made that happen.

When we finished there was general agreement that it had been a good morning, better than expected. Even better than that, it had been a good summer session.   I felt the enthusiasm generated in our short pre-coaching session had been very positive for us, and had enhanced the work with our students.   The experience certainly made me proud once more of the people who volunteer as coaches and co-coordinators, and made clear the importance of what we bring to the students.

*Disclaimer: I offer here no judgment about the reason for the teacher’s mood on that morning.  It could have been anything from bunions bothering her to ,well, anything on a long list of possibilities.

Summer-school coaching every year is a completely grass-roots effort by WCC volunteers. They see a need and go to work on it, a spirit that Kent embodies and runs throughout our coaching ranks.

Bob Menzimer

 

 

Berkeley school district honors WriterCoach Connection

On Wednesday, April 14, the Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Bill Huyett, board President Karen Hemphill, and the rest of the board recognized WriterCoach Connection for ten years of service in Berkeley schools, in a brief ceremony at the beginning of its regular board meeting. Our longest-tenured Community Alliance for Learning board member, veteran coach, and WCC spokesperson for the evening Lunell Anderson; WCC founding activist Priscilla Myrick; and WCC coach, coach trainer, and the program's new Director or Instruction Jayne Walker joined me in accepting the certificate of recognition on behalf of all the volunteer coaches we are serving, and have served, students not only in Berkeley but also in Albany and Oakland through the years. Click here for a video of the ceremony.

Bob Menzimer

Who better than a teacher to describe the impact of WCC?

Susannah Bell (above left, with WCC Berkeley High Site Coordinator Sahib-Amar Khalsa), an English teacher in the Community Partnerships Academy small school at Berkeley High, offers this moving testimony to what WriterCoach Connection means to her students, and to her:

"The only thing that could make my experience better would be if the WCC happened more often! The WCC sessions have been invaluable for my students' success and motivation in writing. I love how my students get to work with the same coach each session -- this practice helps in the continuity of skill development and provides the students with an adult who cares about them and their progress. The writing coach may be the only person in an individual student's life who gives them an hour of undivided attention; the fact that they are getting this hour from a caring adult but also one who helps them improve in an area they will undoubtedly use in their lives is nothing short of extraordinary. The WCC also impacts my students' lives in ways that cannot be measured. Every single time we have a coaching session, a coach pulls me aside to tell me, "Did you know _________ was dealing with this issue?" Of course, since I see 150 students per day, I cannot always know what is going on in all of my students' lives. But invariably, every time a coaching session ends, I fill out at least one counseling referral to the health center. One young lady was enduring an abusive situation and I did not know. As a result of this, she was engaging in self-destructive behaviors. After I was able to connect her with the appropriate resources to get help (thanks to a coach) she started going to regular counseling. She is like a different person now. She has a calmness about her that has also positively influenced her performance in my class. This is one of many examples of how the WCC not only helps students progress in their writing; it also could save kids' lives."

Susannah really captures the impact our ceaselessly dedicated and highly skilled volunteer coaches have on the students with whom they work. What is unspoken in Susannah's words is how crucial dedicated teachers are to the success of WriterCoach Connection. A significant factor in the effectiveness of WCC is the full support of these talented and hard-working classroom teachers. We're fortunate to have Susannah and her colleagues throughout our three school districts in our corner!

Bob Menzimer

                                                      

                     

WriterCoach Connection at Berkeley celebrates Cal student coaches

One of the most welcome additions to WCC in the last few years has been the formation of an official UC Berkeley student organization to recruit Cal students as writer coaches for WCC. At its December 3 meeting, WriterCoach Connection at Berkeley expressed appreciation for the dedicated service to our middle and high school students and their teachers. And everyone at Community Alliance for Learning joins in that expression of gratitude! Our public-school kids LOVE their Cal coaches, who have energized our entire program with their skill, energy, and enthusiasm.

Photo by Lynn Mueller

At the WCCB meeting on Dec. 3 were (top, left to right): Claire Hwang, Rachel Morgan, Leah Moskovic, Karlie Drutz, Jennifer Carr, Joanna Salem, and WCCB President Wei Liu. Bottom, left to right: Debbie Lieu, Jane Chong, Cal Volunteer Manager Briana Jauregui, WCCB Secretary Kelli-Jean Chun, and WCCB Treasurer Melissa Solano.

These Cal students have really transformed the ranks of our WCC coaches. Go Bears!

Bob Menzimer

Teaching leader gives high grades to WriterCoach Connection

Annie Johnston, co-director of Community Partnerships Academy at Berkeley High, had this to say after reviewing several measures of her students' academic achievement this year:

"After two years of WCC support, CP Academy sophomores outperformed BHS students overall and in every ethnic category in passing the CHSEE. WCC contributed tremendously to both competence and confidence for these students. Sixty-five percent of those sophomores signed up for our AP augmentation section. That is a significant increase over past classes--double the percentage that signed up last year!"

Annie's gracious comments speak to both the effectiveness of writer coaching in general and to the longitudinal impact of this support on students who have had two straight years of writer coaching.  The results Annie cites echo what BUSD research data indicates about increased writing achievement among district eighth graders who have had two consecutive years of writing support from WCC.

Bob Menzimer

Decorated Berkeley teacher cites the crucial role of WCC

Berkeley High teacher Susannah Bell, whose CP Academy students are served by WriterCoach Connection, was recently honored for teaching excellence by the Berkeley Public Education Foundation. In a subsequent Berkeley school board appearance, at which she was recognized for her teaching achievements, Susannah said:

"WCC has been a key partner in our Writing for College Program. Because of the WCC, our students have more confidence in their writing. As a result, in the CPA class of 2011:

• Two of our students joined the BHS Jacket staff
• 85% passed the ELA section of the CAHSEE on the first attempt (higher passage rate than BHS overall and significantly higher within subgroups)
• 65% have enrolled in the AP English Augmentation class for next year
• One of our students is looking forward to getting his writing published with the help of a writing coach (who has published a critically acclaimed memoir)"

We deeply appreciate Susannah's comments and the vital role she, fellow CP Academy teacher Ariel Morris, and CPA co-director Annie Johnston have played in making WCC such a success at Berkeley High.

Bob Menzimer

Packing a punch: Words from CP Academy students in Berkeley

When WriterCoach Connection was the focus of Kitty Kelly Epstein's Education Today program on KPFA (94.1 FM) on March 13, students from Berkeley High's Community Partnerships Academy were lined up on their phones, waiting to offer their comments on the air. Unfortunately, time permitted comments only from CP Academy teachers Susannah Bell and Ariel Morris, but here are some of the comments about their writer coaches that the CP Academy students had prepared for the airwaves:

"It makes me feel tood to have her attention because she is a great writer herself. Because I've been able to work one-on-one with her, I felt confident about sharing my writing with a larger audience. Now I write for my school newspaper, the Berkeley High Jacket."

"He helps me strengthen the analysis of the quotes I find and better my ability to transform my thoughts into a piece of writing."

"Earlier this morning my writer coach helped me develop an essay comparing the events and secret messages in Lord of the Flies by Golding, and the Bible. It seemed to be hard to analyze and state my views of the two but after taking in advice from my coach about the importance of finding common analogies, I was able to construct an essay that when I re-read with the corrections, it made me feel more confident."

"She makes the hardest things sound so simple and easy. She also breaks down things to that I can understand it better. She gives me ideas to use in my essay but doesn't try to change my essay. She listens to what I have to say. And she's cool."

"Today my writer coach Elliot helped me write a conclusion. These coaches help me with my grammar, flow, and developing my personal style. This is good because it can be instrumental in a career in sports writing."

"My writing coach has helped me a lot. He tells me that the way I write is different from any paper he has ever read. This makes me feel good about my writing and makes me want to write more, and he helps me by showing me how to change my essay to make it better."

Catch the KPFA show about WriterCoach Connection here.

These students are expressing thanks to our coaches, but I feel we're the ones who should be thanking them, for the privilege of working with them!

Bob Menzimer

A Longfellow teacher's view of WCC

When it comes to conveying the value of WriterCoach Connection, no one says it better than a teacher. Here's what Martha Cain, at Longfellow Middle School, has to say:

"The coaching that WCC provides to Longfellow's 7th and 8th grade students has been instrumental in making Longfellow the top scoring middle school on recent district writing assessments. The presence of the WCC coaches drives teachers to produce articulated assignments. In addition, because we know that our students will receive help from a coach, we attempt more ambitious writing assignments.

"In terms of 'differentiated instruction,' I can't think of a program that's been more successful during my 18 years at BUSD. My only regret is that students don't see coaches more often!"

Many thanks to Martha for her thoughtful and articulate description of WCC. The program is successful because of the heartfelt collaboration that our hard-working teachers offer in spite of their overwhelming curricular demands.

Bob Menzimer