Coach Contributions

The time that coaches contribute enhances their students’ writing skills and translates into significant monetary value.

Trained coaches become part of a team that meets with English classes during the school day at a given school site. Each volunteer coach commits to coaching two hours a week in one-to-one sessions with students. Over the course of a year, this commitment amounts to 40 hours of coaching, an investment valued at $2,400 per coach. 

During the past year, 2007-08, approximately 280 community volunteers, trained as writing coaches, helped over 1,500 students in six Berkeley and Albany secondary schools. Coaches supported teachers and students in 65 English classes, providing most students with seven or more individual coaching sessions throughout the year. The value of the WriterCoach Connection volunteer hours contributed to our pubic schools over the past few years is well over $1 million.

 

Why does a volunteer program need funds?

Although our writing coaches are volunteers, Community Alliance for Learning (CAFL) hires professionals to insure high-quality WriterCoach Connection program standards and a high level of participant satisfaction. These professional services include:

• program development, including developing and updating program materials and working with school administrators and teachers to implement the program at each school;
• volunteer recruitment from the community, colleges, parent groups and local organizations;
• high quality coach training for new volunteers and periodic in-service coaching workshops;
• professional development to orient teachers to the program;
• one or more site coordinators at each school to develop coach teams and work out program logistics, to communicate teacher assignments to coaches, and to supervise and support coaching each week;
• program evaluation and assessment of student writing progress;
• CAFL oversight to insure the program meets or exceeds expectations.

In addition, funds are needed for training materials and program supplies and for essential overhead costs (insurance, bookkeeping, tax preparation, etc.) to maintain Community Alliance for Learning’s non-profit status.

Because of the high value of the volunteer contribution, every dollar donated to Community Alliance for Learning reaps more than double its value in quality services to schools.