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Statistics and Success Stories
Read what administrators have to say... |
See the proof in the rising test scores! |
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"As principal of Star City Middle School, I want you to know that The Write Tools and your trainers have been the best thing for my school, my faculty and my students. We began our journey with The Write Tools after another administrator spoke positively about The Write Tools training she had provided to teachers in Rogers, Arkansas. I compared The Write Tools with Reading Next and Writing Next research before securing our first training with you. I began by providing modules to my literacy teachers with a number of modeling and coaching visits. After seeing such positive results with those teachers, I decided to offer the Active Reading Module training for all of my staff. This workshop was followed by model lessons. Your trainer, Barb Hermanson, and I met some resistance from a few of my content area teachers. I urged them to utilize some strategies in their classrooms and before I knew it they were sold on The Write Tools. I have watched these teachers transform into very confident teachers of writing. They saw their students able to highlight and use 2-column notes on their own which resulted in higher student achievement on classroom assessments. We knew these strategies would assist our students in their state assessments when reading text and looking for supporting details for their answers---and it did." (Click here to read the entire letter) --Susan White, Principal, Star City Middle School, Star City, Arkansas
"In my position as Curriculum Supervisor of Writing for Pittsburg Public Schools, I have been charged with the training and implementation of a district-wide writing program. After reviewing several writing programs, the Academic Leadership Team in Pittsburgh chose to implement Alice Greiner’s “The Write Tools.” We are now nearing the end of our second year of implementation and the feedback from the teachers is overwhelmingly positive. Evaluations of the workshops reveal that teachers feel confident to implement strategies immediately. Furthermore, in recent follow-up survey, teachers reported that the new strategies made writing easier and more fun for students and more importantly that the writing performance has improved. Writing test results for the 2007-2008 school year corroborate those testimonials. High school scores in Pittsburgh Public Schools rose by 8% and middle school scores rose by 12%. This year, we are implementing in elementary schools and expect to see similar gains. I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to recruit the professional development services of Alice Greiner and The Write Tools. They have a special talent for clearly and respectfully communicating ideas of varying complexity to a wide range of audiences. In the professional development area, Alice and The Write Tools are among the best the profession has to offer. I have no doubt you will agree." (Click here to read the entire letter) —Francis Doyle, Senior Program Officer, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pittsburgh, PA
Alice Greiner and The Write Tools trainers provide dynamic professional development. Their presentations engage participants through activities that can be taken back to school and implemented immediately in classrooms. Teachers are able to immediately differentiate their strategies to fit the needs of their students. All the trainers are former classroom teachers with deep personal knowledge of the strategies as well as an uncanny ability to relate to teachers. The Write Tools combines research-based, classroom-proven strategies with exceptional professional development. The deliberate integration of 6 + 1 Traits of Writing and the strong connections made to reading instruction gives teachers the skills and strategies to differentiate instruction and close student achievement gaps in writing. As a principal of a school with a high number of English Language Learners and students from low socio-economic backgrounds, I have found that the strategies and techniques learned through The Write Tools have had a significant impact on our learners. We have received our state mandated assessment scores in writing and are celebrating our students’ accomplishments. This will be especially meaningful as our district assessment writing scores reflect positive growth since the training provided by “The Write Tools”. (Click here to read the entire letter) —Jean Bell, Principal, Littleton Elementary School, Avondale, AZ
For more testimonials, click here |
Click on the name of the school or district to see the progress they've made with their writing test scores. Almond Elementary (Los Altos District) Covington Elementary (Los Altos District) Loyola Elementary (Los Altos District) Oak Elementary (Los Altos District) Santa Rita Elementary (Los Altos District) Pittsburgh Public Schools-Grade 5 Pittsburgh Public Schools-Grade 8 Pittsburgh Classical Academy (Pittsburgh Public Schools) Hassayampa Elementary School (Wickenburg School District) Holbrook School District |
Los Altos School District Writing Performance
"The Write Tools trainers develop an instant connection with classroom teachers as they lead them on a journey through which they gain the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver meaningful, effective writing instruction to the students in their classrooms. The professional development sessions- a captivating and effective blend of research, professional and personal experience, and classroom application - empower teachers with confidence and the necessary tools to teach writing, an often intimidating aspect of language arts."
- Jeffrey Baier, Assistant Superintendent, Curriculum and Instruction Los Altos Shool District, CA
Almond Elementary Writing Performance
Covington Elementary Writing Performance
Loyola Elementary Writing Performance
Oak Elementary Writing Performance
Santa Rita Elementary Writing Performance
Pittsburgh Public Schools Writing Performance-5th Grade
Pittsburgh Public Schools Writing Performance-8th Grade
"In my position as Curriculum Supervisor of Writing for Pittsburgh Public Schools, I have been charged with the training and implementation of a district-wide writing program. After reviewing several writing programs, the Academic Leadership Team in Pittsburgh chose to implement “The Write Tools.” We are now nearing the end of our first year of implementation and the feedback from the teachers is overwhelmingly positive. Evaluations of the workshops reveal that teachers feel confident to implement strategies immediately. Most importantly, teachers reported that the writing performance of the students has improved.”
--Frances Doyle, Curriculum Supervisor, Writing K-12, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pittsburgh Classical Academy Writing Performance
"Our students have always had good ideas for writing- they just didn’t know how to organize their thoughts. After one year of the Write Tools, our entire school was focused and systematically using the same strategies to improve our students’ writing. We saw the students who used to sit in the back and complain that they didn’t want to write anything, suddenly eager to get their thoughts down on paper. I often hear them tell the teachers, “This is easy. Why didn’t we do this before?” Most of the teachers were thinking the same thing. Thanks to the Write Tools, our students improved 33.1% on the Pennsylvania State Writing test in one year. We all worked together to teach these writing skills and our success was amazing!"
-Danielle Harris, Pittsburgh Classical Academy, Reading Coach
Redwood City School District Writing Performance
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Hassayampa Elementary Writing Performance
"Every day I see evidence of The Write Tools strategies being used in classrooms. Teachers have found these ideas easy to implement and very student friendly. The strategies also provide natural differentiation for students. The Write Tools has also provided valuable on-site support via grade level meetings, demonstration lessons, and observational coaching. All these factors have contributed to Hassayampa’s significant increase of students meeting or exceeding state standards on the AIMS Writing Assessment.”
Mike Anderson, Principal, Hassayampa Elementary
“As they say “the proof is in the pudding.” In one year of concentrated implementation, our elementary school students demonstrated incredible growth in writing as demonstrated in our AIMS test results. In our 3rd grade, only one student did not meet the standard. The Write Tools provides the structure and the language needed for teaching students how to write.”
Carissa Hershkowitz, Federal Projects Director, Wickenburg U.S.D., AZ
Holbrook School District Writing Peformance
"The Write Tools is the program that differentiates for all learners, whether they are SPED, ELL, high performing or at-risk. In the 5th grade last year we had 20% of the students classified SPED, and we still had 89% meet the standard. ...The Write Tools works for everyone if done systematically and consistently."
-Robbie Koerperich, Assistant Superintendent, Holbrook USD #3
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