Grant Spotlight

Katie Malone is every parent’s picture of a 1st grade teacher – enthusiastic, warm and excited about her job.  When she talks about turning her students into fluid writers she bubbles, “That’s what we’re all here for, making a difference, making the kids better writers for life.”  

Thanks to a WFEE grant, Katie and her fellow teachers believe they now have the tools to do just that. The grant, titled Home Grown Institute – Lucy Calkins Writing Program, brought a nationally recognized program from Columbia University to Winchester in June of 2008.  27 teachers, representing all of Winchester’s elementary schools, spent a week honing their own writing skills and learning how to be better teachers.

“Some people might call me the Lucy Calkins poster girl,” says Katie Malone, who has been teaching at Lynch Elementary for three and half years.  “This is a phenomenal program.”  Developed by New York educator Lucy Calkins, the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project focuses on getting students to write every day, drawing on their own lives for inspiration. 

“Kids are self centered, they love to write about themselves,” says Malone.  Encouraging students to write about the “small moments” of their lives is how Malone teaches strategies to make children feel comfortable as writers.  Malone, and other supporters of the Calkins method, maintain doing that with students in the early elementary grades lays a foundation for those students to quickly learn the skills needed in later years.  The program teaches students to focus on a topic, making their writing interesting, rich with details. The end result, Malone believes, is kids who both enjoy writing and have the skills necessary to succeed on standardized tests such as the MCAS.  Designed with time for individual student/teacher conferences, the Calkins program is meant to be welcoming to all writers whatever their skill level.

Improving early literacy was a major focus of WFEE’s 2008-2009 grant program.  Nearly half of the professional development grants for the coming year focus directly on introducing teachers to innovative and exciting approaches to reading and writing, the foundation skills for an excellent education. “We were especially enthusiastic about the Calkins program,” says Grants Committee Co-Chair Ann Olmsted. “It helps teachers identify the needs of every learner and differentiate their instruction accordingly. It really offers the opportunity for teachers to work with individuals rather than relying on standardized programs.” Thanks to the generosity of its donors in 2008, WFEE has granted more than $107,000 to teachers across Winchester who this year will be striving for excellence and innovation in their classrooms.