-- AmirEffat - 19 Apr 2006

Expenses of a High School Writing Center

A major concern of starting and maintaining a writing center is the expense a writing center demands. This page is designed to show you expenses that you need to take into consideration, as well as ways to reduce the burden of these costs.

Why a writing center is worth the cost

Creating a writing center is an extremely effective way to make students better writers and worth many times more than the expense it entails. Often a criticism of the writing center is that it is unable to accomplish anything beyond peer editing. However, writing centers offer much more to a high school than peer editing ever could. In his article on the development of the writing center Harris explains the value of the writing center over peer editing stating, "the tutor's role ranges among a variety of tasks: offering reader response, leading the student toward finding her own answers, suggesting strategies to try, diagnosing possible underlying problems, listening while the student articulates her message, and offering needed support during the composing struggle. To do all this, tutors must be selected and trained and, in the process become a hybrid creation-neither teacher nor a peer. The tutor's job is to help writers move beyond requests for someone to "proofread"or "fix" their papers. Overall a writing center helps the student tutors to become more confident writers and leaders as well as encourages a successful collaborative learning environment.

Staffing a writing center

As writing centers use student tutors most of the staff will be working volunteer. This cuts down the cost of a high school writing center immensely. Yet, this may be misleading in that staffing a writing center still requires certain expenses. Any successful writing center needs a central organizer and someone to train the writing tutors, which stipulates a paid role. Acquiring this staff can be considered the most expensive part of creating a writing center. However, the amount of paid staff needed as well as their involvement with the writing center may vary drastically. In this way, staffing a writing center greatly depends on the amount of students that attend a given school.

Smaller schools typically have fewer resources simply due to their size. Thus, smaller schools often require less staff expectations. A teacher devoted solely to running the writing center may not be necessary. To save money one or two teachers may be encouraged to oversee the center with a stipend of some sort. The teachers would maintain their already established role at the school while taking on the writing center as an extra project.

In a larger school with more resources available a staff member whose main focus is on the writing center is encouraged. For example, a writing center with 175 writing tutors will need to be able to contact someone at any given moment for help and advice. A teacher with full time responsibilities outside the center may not be able to give the amount of attention necessary for such a position. At the same time, one staff member fully devoted to the writing center is well able to support a large writing center of even up to 200 tutors.

Location

If free space is not already available the location of a writing center can be an important issue. However, there are many simple solutions to this problem. One answer to the problem would be to utilize the library. The library is an ideal place for study as one writing center scholar states, "Located in the library, the center would be easily accessible for all students. The library also provides a secure space for computers and supplies. In addition, the paraprofessional staff would be available to help inexperienced students with hardware and software problems. Of course, a major benefit is access to the library's reference sources." The library would cut down on the costs of a writing center as well as establish a quiet environment in which student could focus on work. Furthermore, inexperienced student tutors would have constant resources and support around them at all times.

However, not all libraries offer such extensive capabilities. Other options vary depending on a school's resources. If a specific location dedicated to the writing center is unavailable then simply having appointments in an unused classroom could work very well. Extra effort may be required in the organization of such a schedule but this method has been found to successful in the past. After school as well as online appointments may also be something to take into consideration.

Supplies

One of the most expensive supplies that a writing center requires is that of computers. The use of computers is necessary for editing papers through Microsoft word. Furthermore, creating a writing center website is very important. This website could inform the high school about the center as well as help them to make appointments. Being able to refer to a computer, as a secondary source of information is very important in having a writing center function smoothly. Creating the writing center in the library will most likely resolve the issue of computers in the writing center, however if this is not possible there are other options.

Other supplies are simpler to provide. The school can easily contribute rudimentary needs, such as a place to print, paper, staplers, and other basic resources. Often by budgeting the writing center similar to tha of an extra curricular club would be the most appropriate course of action.

Economic benefits of having a writing center

Although writing centers do cost money, they can also potentially increase the overall budget that a high school receives. Each school�s budget varies greatly depending on state as well as local regulations. However, by applying for FTE (full time equivalent) for the work done at the writing center can help expand the enrollment population of the school and ultimately the budget it receives. The extra work done by students as well as faculty expands the amount of full time enrollment at a school and can lead to an addition in funding. For more information see http://public-library.net/FTE.htm.

Grants

Creating a writing center often opens up new opportunities in the search for grants. A grant can vastly expand a writing center's capabilities. Grants fund things that go beyond the writing center's main objectives and help reach out into the community. For example one high school writing center in Florida received a grant on special projects partnering with elementary school science classes. Other grants may help pay for informative fieldtrips and other research opportunities. Grants can be applied for at a local or national level each of which should be taken into consideration. The E. ford grant has been awarded to high school writing centers in the past. More information can be found about this specific grant at http://www.eeford.org/applying/index.asp.

Informative field trips

One of the best ways to show your students how a writing center functions successfully is to take them to already existing and prospering writing centers. This allows for writing tutors to realize their overall goals as well as their function on a larger scale. Furthermore, it is a good way to prepare the tutors as they enter their college careers.

Contacts

Don't just take advice from this page! Contact other high school writing centers and see how they afford to support and maintain their centers. Here is a list of contacts to other high school writing center coordinators and their websites.

• http://www.laspillane.org
• spillal@ocps.k12.fl.us
• brandtom@BERKELEYPREP.ORG