Writing program challenges youngsters

PATTERSON -- Writing in English didn't come easily, and they didn't have to go. Still, 40 Patterson middle-graders gave up three weeks of summer vacation to learn about poetry, expository paragraphs and the persuasive power of ethos, pathos and logos.

These are not topics most 10- to 12-year-olds have mastered, much less students for whom English is a second language. They are straight out of high school curriculum standards.

But this was no remedial summer class. This was the Migrant Writing Academy, a program derived from the Great Valley Writing Project, funded by federal dollars and held by Patterson Unified School District at Walnut Grove School.

"These are just average sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, but they're doing high school work. They know. We showed them the standards," said lead teacher Brandy De Alba, who spends the school year teaching writing to eighth-graders in Stockton. "We don't just want to meet the standards. We beat them."

The writing academy is a professional breath of fresh air for her after 10 years of teaching traditional summer school, she said.

"I'm not forced to a pacing guide or a limited curriculum or a test. We are treated as professionals and allowed to meet the needs of our students," De Alba said.

Each day the team of three veteran teachers went over what worked and why, and what didn't. De Alba keeps what worked and adapts what didn't.

Even parents who don't speak or read English can help their children think things through and listen to them read, she said. The school works with parents in home visits and a group assignment at the graduation dinner.

Class assignments focused on student interests:

• Read lyrics of rapper Tupac Shakur and rap back on social justice, how things have changed, or not, since his death in 1996

• Write a letter of advice to a parent

• Dream up a shoe of the future and persuade someone to buy it

Children got a chance each day to read aloud, something English learners rarely choose to do, and a daily debate pitted eight students picked at random to speak for and against lively topics like, "Which Mexican soccer team is the best?" "Should schools have uniforms?" or "Should students be paid to go to school?"

Students said they enjoyed the class and learned a lot. Most said they planned to go to college, though the boys also dreamed of professional soccer careers.

The academy was "cool and funny, entertaining and surprising," said student Abraham De Leon.

"We make a book. Everyone gets to write one story. I want it to be perfect. It inspires me more," David Apolinar said.

Every academy creates an anthology of student writings, said Great Valley Writing Project director Carol Costa Minner. The academies for English language learners were started six years ago. Her office is running nine such academies this summer. Their intensive approach has proved effective.

Students average roughly a 12 percent gain over five writing competency areas judged within a grade level, according to academy statistics from 2009.

"That's very significant, very hard-won growth," said school psychologist Chris Condon, testing specialist for the project. "For English language learners, writing (develops) last because it's the most challenging."

"I like the teachers. They are very kidding. They have patience. They take the time on you, even if it takes a long time. They really helped me a lot," said Anel Rodriguez, who wants to go to the University of California at Davis and study nursing.

Student Elizabeth Serrato said she learned more at the academy than during the school year. "It's better. There's no more bullying."

That resonates with a group of students that often has to catch up to native English speakers who live in one place all year.

"Here, they're able to honor their home life, being safe," De Alba said, adding that cultural notes often showed up in assignments.

"One girl wrote about herself that she would 'not get caught watching a man work.' That's from the Mexican culture. You don't watch a man work, you help," she said.

"Some things have taken me aback," teacher Javier Villanueva said. "One student wrote, 'I like these teachers because they don't scream at us.' Their culture is valued. They have a say."

The academy makes him feel valued as well, said Villanueva, who teaches eighth-grade English in Empire during the school year.

"A program like this is a breather for me from the rigid and regimented. I get personally invested because I see the impact that kids get from their writing, the impact their writing has on their lives," he said.

On the Net:

The Great Valley Writing Project, www.csustan.edu/gvwp; National Writing Project, www.nwp.org.

Bee education reporter Nan Austin can be reached at naustin@modbee.com or 578-2339.