in what they have to say, and will help them to the best of
their ability—they’ll respond,” she continued. “We’ve had
students say, ‘You’re like a second parent to me;’ ‘You help
me write a much better essay;’ and one student even said,
‘Dude, you should be an app.’”
The students approve, and the teachers have given some
great feedback as well. “Teachers have told us they can
give out twice as many writing assignments thanks to
our coaching sessions,” Maureen recounted. “They’ve said
students’ grades have gone up, in some instances. And one
teacher said it’s like having ’30 of me’ in the classroom.”
WCC conducted an assessment to get a tangible measure
of their success, and found that an average of 76% of the
students in their coaching sessions have improved their
writing proficiency. With a statistic like that, you may be
surprised to hear that WCC only conducts 10-12 coaching
sessions throughout the school year or semester, and the
sessions are often only a half-hour long. They also make sure
that the same coaches and students work together in all the
sessions in order to build trust and rapport between them.
“The West Contra Costa Unified School District, and
the schools, have been very supportive of WriterCoach
Connection since we began coaching there in 2011,”
Kevin, Oscar & Aimee
Maureen said. Currently their WCCUSD schools include
Richmond High School, El Cerrito High School, Crespi
Middle School, Korematsu Middle School, and Kennedy
High School. If they’re not at your (or, your child’s) school,
talk with the PTA to see if it’s possible, and then see the
contact info below.
In addition to support from the schools, it is support
from the community and foundations that keep WCC
going strong. Donations and volunteers are everything,
fortunately we live in a community that values such a
tremendous service. If you’d like to become a coach yourself,
apply! “What qualifies a person to help the kids is: an
enjoyment of teenagers, and an enjoyment of the writing
process,” Maureen said, and assured us that you needn’t be
a professional writer or retired educator. “We offer free
training to all of our coaches, and practice before they go
into the classroom.”
To donate, become a writing coach, and to learn more
about WCC, head to writercoachconnection.org or call
(510) 858-7108. This is a great 501(c)(3) nonprofit to invest
your time and money with. As one teacher from El Cerrito
High put it: “Students that don’t turn in anything else will
turn in their writer-coach assignments.”
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