Business & Professional Writing

DRAFT Proposal for Implementing the Collins Writing Program in the Hackettstown Middle School Hackettstown, NJ 2014-2015

Prepared by Kristine Gibson, Collins Education Associates, LLC

Overview

As we know, changing the way teachers approach writing in their classrooms requires sustained support, training, and time. The goal of the Collins Writing Program is to change the teaching and learning culture in Hackettstown Middle School classrooms. We want writing to be so ingrained in instruction that teachers naturally integrate writing into their lessons and students become comfortable with writing about what they know. Doing this is not only sound, research-based instruction, but it is also an effective way to prepare students to meet the rigorous demands of the Common Core State Standards, future learning, and the work place. We strive to provide teachers with best practice teaching strategies that enhance learning along with an efficient system for managing and assessing student writing.

Program Goals

The goal of the Collins Writing Program is to provide a consistent and effective approach for writing across the curriculum in grades K to 12. It is an approach that helps English and language arts teachers to teach writing and makes it possible for non-language arts teachers to use writing effectively in their instruction. The Collins Writing Program is based on research (see www.collinsed.com) that emphasizes three factors that have significant impact on student writing improvement:  Frequency of Writing  Focus of Writing Instruction  Strategic Feedback on Writing

Collins Writing is organized around a framework called the Five Types of Writing, which includes all the formal and informal writing assignments that teachers use in their classrooms. This framework, which can be used by teachers in all grades and subjects, gives an entire staff a common language for describing best-practice writing strategies.

Implementation Plan

Our goal for the first year is to introduce teachers to the Collins Writing Program so that they can successfully use Type 1, 2, and 3 writing assignments in their classrooms. We will also introduce one or more specific assignments that target critical areas of the Common Core. After one full day of training, teachers will be able to begin using the Five Types of Writing in their classrooms. However, our program yields the greatest results when time is allotted for follow-up training and support.

This proposal outlines our detailed plan for training and implementation of the Collins Writing Program in Year One. Year Two goals are outlined briefly and will be detailed after Year One activities are finalized.

Collins Education Associates 320 Main Street, PO Box 957, West Newbury, MA 01985 800-932-4477 www.collinsed.com

Our aim is to quickly get teachers involved in the Collins Writing Program and provide them with enough training that they may begin to integrate it successfully into their instruction. Therefore, the major goals of this year’s implementation are to:  Provide training in the basics of Collins Writing  Supply teachers with the needed Collins Writing resources  Get teachers to use the Five Types of Writing routinely in instruction  Introduce one to three key assignments directly linked to the CCSS

Detailed objectives:  Establish common language for a school-wide writing across the curriculum program.  Introduce the Five Types of Writing, focusing on Types 1 and 2 (quickwrites) and Type 3 (compositions).  Fine-tune Type 2 prompts to align with the rigorous demands of the Common Core and to reflect the types of questions we expect to see on the upcoming PARCC assessments.  Develop understanding of and ability to use FCAs to focus students’ writing and provide appropriate feedback to students.  Introduce the Ten Percent Summary as a key assignment for raising students’ level of literacy (and ability to do the kind of close reading required by the Common Core) and use of domain-specific vocabulary while developing content knowledge.  Practice using self- and peer-editing to encourage a higher level of self-assessment. Year One Summary of Activities

Time/Type Activity Days

September 2, 3, or 4 Program Introduction, Part 1—Introduce the Five Types of Writing and ½ —Whole Staff PD address the rationale and research underpinning the Collins Writing Program. Primary focus on Types 1 and 2 Writing.

October—Whole Program Introduction, Part 2—Review and troubleshoot Types 1 and 2. 1 Staff In Service Primary focus on using Focus Correction Areas to teach and assess writing (Type 3). Grade level/department breakout sessions for content Unit Planning with embedded writing.

October/November In-Class Modeling and Start-Up Assistance—In-class demonstration lessons 3-4 — (modeling Types 1-2 and introducing Type 3 assignments) and follow up Embedded Training debriefing sessions by department to provide technical assistance as teachers begin program implementation. *

Check Mates: Tackling Essential Conventions—Half-day session with ELA teachers to introduce the Check Mate folders and address the teaching of writing conventions. *

December—½ AM—Strategies for Improving Written Responses in Math (math teachers 1 Embedded Training only) * and ½ Whole Staff In Service PM—Program Training—Review Type 3 Writing and FCAs and develop the self- and peer-editing processes. Introduce the Collins Portfolio and Teacher Implementation Folder and set implementation goals.

December— Grade Level Meetings—Collect and share current samples of student of 2-3 Embedded Training work and address specific implementation concerns, including frequency of writing, curriculum connections, and efficient evaluation of student work.

January—Whole Program Enhancement Training—Enhance Type 2 prompts to align with 1 Staff In Service CCSS. Refine FCAs for Type 3 Writing. Provide technical support with regard to Collins Portfolios and Teacher Implementation Folders.

January/February— In-Class Modeling and Technical Assistance— In-class demonstration 2-3 Embedded Training lessons (modeling self- and peer- editing) and follow up debriefing sessions by department to provide technical assistance as teachers continue program implementation. *

March—½ AM—Mid-Semester Folder Reviews-- Informal folder reviews to look at 1 Embedded Training initial implementation and how well program and implementation goals are and ½ Whole Staff In being met. Each teacher will set priority goals for enhancing Service implementation during the remainder of the school year. *

PM—Program Enhancement Training—Fine tune and practice providing effective feedback on student papers and using that feedback to determine future FCAs. Introduce the Ten Percent Summary.

March—Embedded Targeted In-Class Modeling and Technical Assistance—Based on needs, 2-3 Training technical assistance and coaching will be provided to selected teachers, individually or in small groups. *

May—½ Embedded AM—Year-End Folder Reviews—This summative review of folders will 1 Training and ½ yield base-line data on program implementation. * Whole Staff In Service PM—Introduction to Argument Writing—Introduce the Argument Essay and begin to explore its relevance in light of the CCSS and PARCC.

May/June— AM—School Leadership Session—Department heads or other designated 1 Embedded Training school leaders will meet to determine goals and support needed moving forward.

PM—Reflection and Goal Setting—Teachers will set individual goals for 2015-2016 academic year.

TOTAL 15-18

*Several substitutes will be needed to release teachers on these days.

Focus of Year Two Activities

Year Two activities focus on fine-tuning Collins practice and building long-term capacity. Teachers work to achieve the individual and department implementation goals set at the end of Year One. A combination of informal and formal folder reviews are held with the objective of checking progress on goals, focusing teacher support, and

Collins Education Associates 320 Main Street, PO Box 957, West Newbury, MA 01985 800-932-4477 www.collinsed.com determining areas of needed improvement. Work with the Ten Percent Summary and general academic vocabulary continues, and the Argument essay is developed.

In Year Two, I suggest the formation of a cadre of teacher leaders—writing advocates—representing a cross section of departments and grade levels, who will provide an important support and advocacy role in the building. This group receives deeper and more specialized training in the Collins Writing Program to assist them in providing advanced technical assistance (addressing questions and issues that might arise after further implementation) and coaching new hires. First year goals for this group might include designing effective, Common Core-consistent writing tasks, learning to facilitate folder reviews and goal-setting meetings with teachers, and developing a set of priority FCAs for each grade level.

Workshop Materials

The following books and materials support the basic program and provide opportunities for teachers to reinforce and extend their use of the program.

For all non-math teachers: Improving Student Performance Through Writing and Thinking Across the Curriculum ($20 X 40 teachers = $800) For math teachers: How Did You Get That? Seven Strategies for Improving Written Responses in Math ($30 X 5 teachers = $150) For all classroom teachers: Teacher Implementation Portfolios (2 packages of 25 = $32) One per student: Collins Portfolios ($.60/student for 400 students = $240) One per student: Essential Conventions Check Mate Quick Reference Folders, Level A (for grade 5) Essential Conventions Check Mate Quick Reference Folders, Level B (for grades 6-8) ($.80/student for 400 students = $320)

Implementation Costs

15-18* Full days of training @ $1500/day ($1000/half day) $22,500 -- $27,000

Travel (approximately 65 miles roundtrip @ $.56/mile) $650 estimated

Materials Fee $1542 estimated

* Training fee is determined by the number of training days selected. The above plan varies from 15 to 18 days of training.

Contact Information

Kristine Gibson, Associate 908-472-0826 [email protected]