As a first year teacher, Dea Auray stood in her classroom wondering how she was going to teach writing to her young students. There were no specific teaching materials to guide Dea's writing instruction, and her college education hadn't included even one instructional writing class. Dea became frustrated and overwhelmed as the right resources simply were not available to aid her teaching.
Recognizing that strong writing skills are a critical part of standards evaluations, and feeling the responsibility of preparing students for statewide testing, Dea worked with her colleague/mentor to develop a solid writing curriculum that they used, tested and enhanced in their own classrooms. Within a few years, this new writing methodology led to a 45-point increase in state writing scores, and had created a classroom bursting with enthusiastic young writers. That's how Empowering Writers came to be.
For the past 25 years, Empowering Writers has transformed K-8 writing instruction and helped raise student test scores against state standards, in schools across the country. We've taught over 100,000 teachers how to improve student writing by providing the necessary knowledge, training and skills to teach writing successfully. Empowering Writers is a proven methodology for writing instruction- designed by teachers, for teachers - that gives K-8 teachers the tools, instructional strategies, and confidence to dramatically improve students' writing abilities and reading comprehension.
Last year was my first year to teach 6th grade ELA. I was very worried about teaching writing. EmpoweringWriters' lessons were so fun and engaging that the students gained confidence in their writing skills (just like I did)! When I finally got to see the results of the ACT Aspire test I was literally in tears. Some of my lowest achieving students scored above the 90th percentile in writing!" – Tricia S., Grade 6 Teacher (Arkansas)
Yes we are very pleased! Both our teachers and students have worked so hard and we have seen tremendous growth. EW has given us an amazing platform from which we are ready to grow from! After year 1 of implementation and coaching we went from 36% to 70% passing." - Marina M., Instructional Coach (Texas)
Praise from Principals:
We have ABSOLUTELY seen an improvement in reading comprehension. Students are reading for purpose. They are looking for answers, or at least clues, using a format they know will provide results, they just have to unlock the truth in front of them." – Brian Delaney, Principal (Massachusetts)
We saw tremendous growth in our writing scores on my campus, but more importantly, we saw great individual growth for our students.”-Keith Thompson, Principal (Texas)
See the variety of ways we off for you to learn how to confidently teach writing, improve student performance, and maximize your instructional time
Check out Kylene Reed's blog and see Empowering Writers instruction in action from real classrooms in this K-5 elementary school.
Visit →Get the all-in-one online resource that provides you with the how-to demonstration videos, teaching tools and student resources to become a successful teaching of writing.
Visit →Our EW family is devoted to empowering the next generation of authors seated in classrooms today – it's what gets us going in the morning, and what keeps us motivated and attuned to the ever-changing climate of education in the 21st-century.
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Dea is an educator, trainer, coach, creator of professional development and resources, entrepreneur and chief problem solver. With a Master's Degree in Education, 25 years in the educational industry, and a degree in Business and Marketing, Dea is ideally suited for her Empowering Writers leadership role. She combines her business savvy, strong communication skills, and passion for problem-solving into her everyday duties, successfully navigating the challenges of a growing business and the dynamic needs of the educational industry.
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