Empowering Writers Comprehensive Narrative Guide
Named District Administration magazine Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products of 2011 Award
MONROE, CT Jan 12, 2011- Empowering Writers, leading K-8 provider of professional development for the instruction of writing, has been honored with a Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products of 2011 Award by District Administration magazine, a leading provider of smart solutions for K12 administrators.
This prestigious acknowledgement is given annually to K12 education products that have supported educational innovation. The winners were selected by the editors of District Administration from hundreds of nominations submitted by readers, including school superintendents and district-level directors in districts across the United States.
The Empowering Writers approach and methodology, as set forth in their award-winning Comprehensive Narrative Writing Guide has been designed to improve and inform teacher practice, and, in turn, student writing. Unlike the more traditional approach of providing plenty of time for students to “just write,” the Empowering Writers methodology maximizes instructional time while providing teachers with strategies for how to teach specific writing skills. Each activity is preceded by valuable background material for teachers, detailed lesson plans with clear objectives, extension activities, and opportunities for differentiation. It also provides hundreds of exemplars of good writing for class analysis. All of this is supplemented through free online teacher resources on their website: www.empoweringwriters.com.
“The nominations offer a view into the inner workings of how districts use products to help solve particular issues,” says District Administration’s editor in chief, Judy Faust Hartnett. “The recommendations we receive include extensive descriptions from school administrators of how these products are used in their districts and the difference they have made, making it very challenging to choose only 100 products. We hope these products and their accompanying testimonials will provide a valuable resource for our readers.”
Enthusiastic users of The Comprehensive Narrative Writing Guide refer to it as their must-have “writing bible.” Mary Beth Stickley, Director of the Early Childhood Department in Bridgeport, CT says, “At long last, teachers have a systematic, comprehensive approach to targeted techniques necessary for “good writing”, with even our youngest writers.” Latrice Simmons, grade 2 teacher agrees, “We have never seen writing like this from our second graders – not ever.”
Co-founders Barbara Mariconda and Dea Paoletta Auray comment, “At Empowering Writers, we’re committed to providing educators and students with a research-based, effective approach to the instruction of writing. We’re honored to be recognized in the field as the leading educational publisher and professional development provider that provides a proven methodology for teaching writing.
The winning products were determined by the quantity of nominations received per product, as well as an evaluation of product quality based upon readers’ nominations and explanations.
About District Administration
District Administration is a monthly publication covering all of the important topics faced in today’s K12 school systems. With a circulation of more than 73,000, District Administration reaches top decision-makers in virtually every school district across the country. Subscribers are district-level leaders in K12 education, including superintendents, assistant superintendents, curriculum directors, business officers, IT directors and federal funds administrators. For more information, visit www.DistrictAdministration.com.
WRITING SCORES INCREASE WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
November 16, 2011 - How did elementary schools in South Carolina’s Richland 1 School District achieve double-digit improvement in writing scores? With the help of Empowering Writers, K-8 provider of Professional Development for the instruction of writing, Richland 1 realized an 11% increase. What the numbers alone do not reveal is the increase in teacher engagement and student confidence that contribute to building a successful community of writers.
“Because of Empowering Writers training and coaching, our teachers have the skills and strategies to be successful with writing instruction,” said Rebecca Clark, Richland 1 Elementary ELA Consultant.
Some schools are looking for a complete writing curriculum. Others look to supplement their existing writing program. With either objective in mind, the Empowering Writers approach and methodology improve teacher practice and student responses. The methodology uses whole class instruction for the introduction, teacher modeling, and guided practice of the explicit skills called for in the genre being taught. Unlike the more traditional approach of providing plenty of time for students to “just write” the Empowering Writers methodology maximizes instructional time while providing teachers with strategies for how to teach specific writing skills.
Clark sums it up like this: “We are thrilled to see our students’ writing and increased test results.”
Her sentiment mirrors that of other schools coast to coast which have also become communities of “empowered writers.” Hartford, CT Public Schools Director of Elementary Literacy, Dr. Beryl Irene Bailey remarks, “…we have made significant gains in writing scores, especially in 5th grade. Our Superintendent was very pleased with our 5th grade writing gains, as this was one of his target areas.”
LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLS SCORE BIG ON TEXAS TAKS
EMPOWERING WRITERS APPROACH: EMPOWER TEACHERS
MONROE, CT October 7, 2011- Houston ISD shouts from the rooftops that Empowering Writers, K-8 provider of Professional Development for the instruction of writing, is the driving force behind their TAKS test score increase in 09-10! By implementing the Empowering Writers Approach, 18 of the lowest performing schools within Houston ISD’s East Region improved an average of 11.3% on Texas TAKS tests.
Enlisting the Empowering Writers Approach to compliment their “6+1 Traits of Writing”, schools within Houston ISD’s East Region realized a 23.7% average increase in commended performance on state tests. Achieved over a 7-month period, these increases can be attributed to the Professional Development System perfected by Empowering Writers over the past 13 years. The foundation laid in these seven months provided the stepping-stones for long-term achievement and growth for K-8 writing instruction within Houston ISD’s East Region.
Rachael Jones, Kindergarten Teacher at Houston ISD’s J.W. Oates Elementary comments, “The quality of work that I am getting from my students since we started Empowering Writers has increased considerably.” Referring specifically to their “Wild Thing” project, Jones began by reading “Where The Wild Things Are” as a class followed by implementing the Empowering Writers Approach.
Jones adds, “We charted our observations, turned them into sentences and discussed how to flip sentences to limit repetitiveness. After practicing as a class, my students were able to use their imagination to turn those sentences into elaborate paragraphs, the result was phenomenal!”
The Empowering Writers Approach begins with a solid foundation of whole class instruction for the introduction, modeling and practice of explicit skills necessary for the genre being taught. Focused on the explicit, discrete skills of students, rather than an entire piece of writing, this approach keeps students from feeling overwhelmed. By empowering student writers with this approach, they have the “write” tools in their toolbox to express what is inside of them.
About Empowering Writers, LLC:
Stemming from real world experience, the methodology and techniques behind Empowering writers have been developed by veteran classroom teachers, Barbara Mariconda and Dea Paoletta Auray while teaching at Mill Hill School in CT. Over a five-year period at Mill Hill, their approach to bring a consistent, effective approach to the instruction of writing was fine-tuned and perfected. After realizing a 45-point increase in narrative writing scores with their 4th graders, Mariconda and Auray co-founded Empowering Writers, LLC in order to share their high impact methodologies on a larger scale. www.empoweringwriters.com
