EHHS English Department Sets Out to Help Students' Writing in the New Writing Center

The EHHS English Department opened a new Writing Center this fall run by two English teachers in order to help students with their writing needs.

In E101 the EHHS Writing Center, run by English teachers Mr. Doug Gardner and Mrs. Christine Sengstacken, is open to help all EHHS students with writing, including college essays or open-ended responses for any classes. Mrs. Sengstacken is available during block 3BD and Mr. Gardner is available in block 4BD. Students sign up for a time slot, choose what they need support on, and meet with the teacher for up to a half hour. Currently, students must be available blocks 3BD or 4BD with either a study hall or English class to sign up. 

The Writing Center will benefit students by using one-on-one help from a teacher and, in the future, peer tutoring. Next semester, students will be able to take a class with Mrs. Lisa Gardner to become peer tutors. Eventually peer tutors will be running the center, and a teacher will be monitoring everyone’s progress. EHHS Instructional Leader, Mrs. Lisa Veleas said, “Some kids are more likely to reach out and get that support when it's from a peer . . . I hope they see it as an opportunity that can help them and that they take advantage of it. Sometimes I feel like we offer a lot here that students don’t take full advantage of.” 

The idea of a Writing Center has been supported by many teachers for a long time, including Mr. Gardner. Mr. Gardner is excited to help students find the voice in their writing. “You don’t have to follow a formula to write an essay… I think helping kids find their style or their voice is what I’d like to do, because then it makes writing less boring.” According to Mrs. Veleas, “Mr. Gardner has always had an interest in wanting to run a writing lab and a number of teachers have said that that would be a good service for us to be able to add. There’s a lot of support for it in the department.” Finally, the program was initiated last year through the Outreach Program at Uconn. This program helps schools institute student-led writing centers, and is responsible for providing the knowledge and materials for the Writing Center. The hope is for all students to consider participating in the newly integrated Writing Center. With student participation, the Writing Center should be an immense help to students that will only grow further.