"The work you and the volunteers have done this past few months has been much more than I expected. The completion rate
for writing assignments is usually less than 50%, but I have been getting about 65-70% of my students to turn in their papers.
This is phenomenal. So much of the credit goes to you and your team. On behalf of my students and my sanity, thank you!"
—Ji Lee, English teacher, Mandela High School, Oakland
for writing assignments is usually less than 50%, but I have been getting about 65-70% of my students to turn in their papers.
This is phenomenal. So much of the credit goes to you and your team. On behalf of my students and my sanity, thank you!"
—Ji Lee, English teacher, Mandela High School, Oakland
Press Coverage
We are always happy to see WCC's work in the press. Enjoy the articles and multimedia we've collected, and don't hesitate to contact us if you would like to write one of your own.
The Post News Group: WriterCoach Connection is Helping More Students
"Last fall, the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that only about a quarter of American 8th and 12th graders are proficient in writing, according to NAEP’s inaugural computer-based writing assessment test." Learn how WriterCoach Connection is looking to improve these statistics!
| 13_0219_thepost_newsgroup.pdf |
Berkeleyside: Learning to write, one edit at a time
February 11, 2013: "Andrea didn’t make eye contact with her writing coach right away....Despite the young girl’s shy demeanor, the coach forged on. Soon the pair was talking about Andrea’s thesis statement, her conclusion, and how the American Revolution figured into the piece..." In this article, Mollie Hart captures not just the facts, but the personal perspectives of teachers, coaches, and site coordinators. Read the article >
Marketplace Magazine: WriterCoach Connection brings community into Richmond classrooms
"Place a bustling batch of students, a finely focused teacher, and a crowd of community volunteers in a classroom, stir, and what do you get?" To find out, read this editorial from Richmond's Marketplace Magazine! Read the article >
Richmond Pulse/New America Media: In Richmond, English Learners Get Assist from Volunteers
October 29, 2012: Richmond Pulse reporter Edgardo Cervano-Soto reports on English Language Learners and WriterCoach Connection's debut at Richmond High School, He quotes RHS Principal Julio Franco as saying: "Sometimes students don't get praise that they can write, that they can express themselves. Now, when people from the community tell you that your writing is as good as anybody’s, that gives you more confidence." Read the article >
Richmond Volunteers News: Cities of Service Grant
October 24, 2012: We'll be expanding the WriterCoach Connection volunteer program at Richmond High School thanks, in part, to a Cities of Service grant! "Cities of Service announced that it has awarded the City of Richmond a $25,000 grant to expand a service initiative designed to address the high school achievement gap. Richmond is one of 18 U.S. cities to be awarded a grant to support mayors who are harnessing the power of volunteers in a strategic way to address priority problems in their communities." Read the full article >
Richmond Confidential: WriterCoach Connection pens success at Richmond High
October 19, 2012: In this story, Brittany Patterson illustrates the need for writing coaches through the eyes of one student. “Teacher said we could start with a question or with quotes,” [the student] says. “That’s the thing, I don’t know how to start.” Read the article >
El Cerrito Patch: Writing Coaches in El Cerrito Schools Needs Volunteer Coaches
September 8, 2012: The El Cerrito Patch is helping to spread the word about volunteering with WriterCoach Connection. We love the quote: "If you are looking for a meaningful way to volunteer in public schools, WriterCoach provides a well-structured and highly effective program." Read the article >
Berkeleyside: Volunteers needed for writer coaching program
September 7, 2012: Berkeleyside, an independent Berkeley news site, shared the WCC program with its readers in its Community section this week. Thanks to this local publication for helping connect us to folks looking for a wonderful volunteer opportunity! Read the article >
KTVU: Successful Writing Program Starts at Richmond High School
September 2012: We're delighted that KTVU covered WCC's expansion to Richmond High School! Just a few key corrections to the story: the WCC program is not afterschool—it serves students during the regular school day, in class—and while we're always on the lookout to expand the program, we do not have plans to Kennedy High School (yet). Thank you to KTVU for making people aware that WCC is growing and thriving! View the clip >
We're on the air! Listen in to KGO's LiveLine
September 3, 2012: "Welcome back to high school! Here's your coach—your writer coach." In this three-minute exchange, CAFL Executive Director Robert Menzimer speaks to KGO anchor Kim Foster about the need for students to have confidence in their writing, and about bringing the WriterCoach Connection program to Richmond High School. Listen to the complete clip, below.
Contra Costa Times: WriterCoach Connection Debuts in Richmond
September 2, 2012: Reporter Robert Rogers introduces his readers to the WriterCoach Connection program: "Richmond High seemed like a natural fit. When West Contra Costa school district Superintendent Bruce Harter expressed interest in Menzimer bringing his program to Richmond High, he jumped at the chance." Read more >
| 12_0902_cctimes_wccdebutsinrichmond.pdf |
Richmond Pulse: New Initiative Develops Students' Writing
August 2012: "WriterCoach Connection builds community, develops individuals, and lets us all shine," writes reporter and writer coach April Suwalsky, who poignantly weaves quotes from the late local writer Fred Davis Jackson into this article on the expanding presence of WCC. Check out pages 6 and 17 of this bilingual pdf edition of the Richmond Pulse to learn more.
| 12_0801_rchpulse_newinitiativedevstudentswriting.pdf |
Richmond Confidential reports on our Richmond High coach recruitment
June 27, 2012: Tyler Orsburn explains the WriterCoach Connection program to readers of the Richmond Confidential online publication and highlights the fulfilling opportunity for Richmond volunteers to serve as coaches. Read the article >
West County Times: Richmond students celebrate a language milestone
In this article, reporter Rick Radin speaks with WCC Executive Director Robert Menzimer at the Richmond Civic Center auditorium on May 21, 2012 after over 1,000 students from third grade through high school receive their English certification. WriterCoach Connection attended the ceremony to celebrate students' success and to talk with the Richmond community about the WCC program that starts in Richmond High School this fall! Read the article >
El Cerrito Patch spotlights WriterCoach Connection
August 23, 2011: In this week's El Cerrito Patch, journalist and teacher Betty Buginas reports on the first WCC program in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, at El Cerrito High School, and on plans to expand the program to Portola Junior High. Her article offers the perspective of a veteran writer coach, a student, a parent, and a school district official—a comprehensive view of WCC in West County! Read the article >
Contra Costa Times profiles WriterCoach Connection at El Cerrito High School
December 30, 2010: Education reporter Shelly Meron describes the remarkable impact of WCC at El Cerrito High School in this Contra Costa Times article. Click the document name below to read the article.
| writingprogramimproveselcerritostudentsskills_123010.doc |
Oaktown Teen Times features WriterCoach Connection
December 2010: Oaktown Teen Times, a publication produced by students at Oakland high schools, features a story about WriterCoach Connection coming to Mandela High School for 2010-11. Mandela is the second Oakland site for WCC, following the program's successful launch at Media Academy in 2008-09. Click the icon below to access the December issue of Oaktown Teen Times, with the WCC article on page 3.
| oaktownteentimesdecember2010.pdf |
BUSD Ceremony Video: 10 Years of WriterCoach Connection Service
April 14, 2010: In a special ceremony, the Berkeley Unified School
District recognized CAFL for ten years of WriterCoach Connection service
to Berkeley schools. View video coverage of the event.
East Bay Monthly: WCC transforms teens into more confident writers
September 2009: In this issue of the East Bay Monthly, Tim Kingston describes the impact of WriterCoach Connection at Oakland's Media Academy, one student at a time, and the impact on himself, as a WCC volunteer.
East Bay Express: Teaching Every Student How to Write, One By One
January 7, 2009: Reporter Jocelyn Wiener provides terrific coverage of an early coaching session at Oakland Media Academy in the East Bay Express. One student remarks: "I like it because they really break things down for us," he said. "We don't never really get one- on-one help with somebody like when we're doing essays. But now we do."
Press Coverage
Here is a sampling of what’s being said in the print media about WriterCoach Connection:
“The coaches are careful to uphold one of the organization’s philosophies—to meet students where they are. Unlike classroom teachers, who might scold a student who hasn’t done his work, the coaches…stay positive. The tenth grade English teacher said she believes the individual attention from someone outside the classroom may be changing her students’ attitudes toward writing.”
—Jocelyn Wiener, East Bay Express, January 7, 2009
“When I signed up to work with WriterCoach Connection…I wanted kids to understand that writing can make a difference in the world by challenging social and economic equality. Instead, I am getting back more than I could ever have imagined—a series of small miracles.”
--Freelance writer and WCC volunteer Tim Kingston, The Monthly, September 2009
“Last year, the program’s first at Media (Academy in Oakland), students showed significant improvement in writing, measured by scored essays. Just as important, the students’ attitude toward writing improved as well.”
--Oakland Post, September 2-8, 2009
“I went through the training and worked as a coach for a year, and I found it a powerful way to help students at all levels discover they had something to say and figure out how to say it. I also used these strategies to help my own teenagers."
--Linda Strean, Managing Editor, Great Schools newsletter, November 2007
“Teachers are outspoken about the project’s positive impact on student achievement, and students affirm that coaching helps them master essential literacy skills….Coaches develop a strong attachment to the program, citing the immediate and tangible results of their efforts.”
--The Berkeley Voice, October 13, 2006
“[WriterCoach Connection] is a brilliant way of providing students with intensive coaching in writing. Every student—this is not a remedial program—receives eight coaching sessions during an academic year. The coaches are trained to help those who are stumped by every assignment, as well as gifted kids who hand in college-level essays... School districts should try to replicate this program. The results are truly impressive. Young people, who think they have nothing to say, discover their voice and learn to persuade with words—a skill they’ll need throughout their lives.”
--Ruth Rosen, Columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle, 2003
“The coaches are careful to uphold one of the organization’s philosophies—to meet students where they are. Unlike classroom teachers, who might scold a student who hasn’t done his work, the coaches…stay positive. The tenth grade English teacher said she believes the individual attention from someone outside the classroom may be changing her students’ attitudes toward writing.”
—Jocelyn Wiener, East Bay Express, January 7, 2009
“When I signed up to work with WriterCoach Connection…I wanted kids to understand that writing can make a difference in the world by challenging social and economic equality. Instead, I am getting back more than I could ever have imagined—a series of small miracles.”
--Freelance writer and WCC volunteer Tim Kingston, The Monthly, September 2009
“Last year, the program’s first at Media (Academy in Oakland), students showed significant improvement in writing, measured by scored essays. Just as important, the students’ attitude toward writing improved as well.”
--Oakland Post, September 2-8, 2009
“I went through the training and worked as a coach for a year, and I found it a powerful way to help students at all levels discover they had something to say and figure out how to say it. I also used these strategies to help my own teenagers."
--Linda Strean, Managing Editor, Great Schools newsletter, November 2007
“Teachers are outspoken about the project’s positive impact on student achievement, and students affirm that coaching helps them master essential literacy skills….Coaches develop a strong attachment to the program, citing the immediate and tangible results of their efforts.”
--The Berkeley Voice, October 13, 2006
“[WriterCoach Connection] is a brilliant way of providing students with intensive coaching in writing. Every student—this is not a remedial program—receives eight coaching sessions during an academic year. The coaches are trained to help those who are stumped by every assignment, as well as gifted kids who hand in college-level essays... School districts should try to replicate this program. The results are truly impressive. Young people, who think they have nothing to say, discover their voice and learn to persuade with words—a skill they’ll need throughout their lives.”
--Ruth Rosen, Columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle, 2003
