The Value of a School-Wide Writing Program
By: Julia Graddy
In 2003, the report of the College Board's National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges underscored the importance of "the neglected 'R' in American education:" writing. Stating that "writing is not a frill for the few, but an essential skill for the many," the Commission's report highlighted the central role that clear writing plays in ensuring academic and professional success and proposed a wide range of recommendations for a "revolution" in teacher preparation and instruction.
Despite that report, as well as general consensus about the importance of writing from other business and academic groups, many schools still do not approach writing as a core content-area subject. Instead of establishing a core writing program that parallels core math and reading programs and progresses over time to more complexity, these schools rely on piecemeal solutions or depend on individual teachers to come up with their own classroom writing "programs."
The conventional thinking about writing has evolved over the last 40 or so years. The transformation to today's point of view began with teachers believing that good writers, like good spellers, are just born.
During the early 90s, work on the desired traits of writing began to make an impact: it became clear that the most effective writers presented their ideas clearly and well, their writing was well-organized, they used good word choice and were fluent in expression, their voice emerged from the writing, and they applied conventions well. How well a writer achieved these traits became, in effect, the rubric for how effective a writer is.
But how does a writer achieve those desired traits of writing? According to the writer's workshop model (a daily, 30- to 45-minute block of time devoted to writing), students become good writers through modeling, discussion, and practice – lots of it.
The explicit instruction of specific skills—the important instructional middle between the writing process and the rubrics – provides the final, vital key – and brings us to the present day. Now we realize that good student writers aren't born to their destiny; they are developed with the help of well-prepared teachers who explicitly teach them a codified body of writing knowledge they need to know.
And that's where an effective school-wide writing program comes in. With a school-wide program that includes a scaffolded curriculum, every teacher participates toward specific, common objectives and achievable goals. Students gain the benefits of a cogent, continuing, and consistent approach that prepares them to become skilled, independent writers. Administrators gain a core writing program that enriches their reading programs in every content area.
So, what does an effective school-wide writing program look like? Extrapolating from the recommendations in the Commission's report, as well as other educational organizations, a high-functioning writing program should help schools:
Approach writing as a core academic subject with comprehensive, differentiated curriculum that is delivered systematically through the writer's workshop model
The emphasis should be on explicit instruction with lots of opportunities to practice the newly learned skills, and it should incorporate writing process and authentic assessment. Ideally, grammar would be included as a part of the program.
Provide an overall framework for organization, operations, and assessment for this important core subject
School administrators are able to target achievable writing goals that can be objectively assessed. Every teacher should have clear, grade-specific goals that contribute to that larger framework and allow students at all competency levels to build on past instruction.
Support teachers with flexible lessons, lots of writer's workshop management suggestions, and rubrics for assessment
While school administrators need to look at the big picture, teachers are necessarily concerned with what happens today in their classrooms. All teachers bring their past experiences with writing to the classroom. Supportive lessons should empower teachers and allow them to fully buy into the program.
Allow students ample opportunities for writing for a variety of purposes and audiences
The five-paragraph essay is just one way to organize a piece of writing. A good school-wide writing program helps students to move beyond formulaic writing. It builds writing communities who enjoy writing and are committed to writing excellence.
Build a cadre of expert teachers of writing
Embedded staff development in a writing program functions as ongoing, quality PD for staffs during a time of low travel and substitute-teacher dollars. The study group model of teachers teaching teachers has been endorsed by leading educational groups like the ASCD (formerly the Association of Supervisors and Curriculum Development), and the National Staff Development Council as the most effective type of staff development.
The task of evaluating and choosing a school-wide program is not an easy task, but it's a worthwhile issue to explore with your colleagues. Going beyond a "quick-fix" approach to writing to a system-wide solution is worth the investment in today's educational climate. A school-wide approach to writing will pay great educational dividends for all segments of your writing community and, and over time, prove itself to be the most cost-effective investment you can make to your writing program.
Julia Graddy is the publisher at Maupin House, a family-owned educational company based in Florida. Maupin House publishes quality educational titles by teachers on writing, reading, and language arts. Its K-8 school-wide writing program, CraftPlus, is built on the research tenets discussed in this article, www.maupinhouse.com.
