HHS Writing Center: An Empathic Approach Builds Confidence and Writing Skills

 

The writing center is a supportive, judgment-free space where you can develop your ideas and improve your writing. It’s not about being bad or good at writing, it’s about growing. *

The Harrison High School Writing Center is a unique space, quite different from any other high school classroom. The room in the D corridor is softly lit, with small groupings of desks and a sofa nestled in the corner. Posters and inspirational quotes line the walls. Every detail of the room is designed to create a welcoming and nurturing environment for students seeking help with writing.

 

The student-led center operates under the guidance of English teachers Lindsey Reilly, Leah Moore, and Jacob Brill, who serve as advisors and mentors. Before serving as tutors, Writing Fellows participate in extensive training in best practices for communicating, offering feedback, and providing support to peers. Since opening in 2023, fellows have conducted 600 tutoring sessions. The center started with 14 writing fellows and has 55 fellows this school year.

 

I have learned to give people the opportunity to develop their own voice.* 

The center provides an environment that respects a writer’s process and encourages the discovery of a unique student voice.  The Writing Center is led by student Writing Fellows who support students of all writing abilities and grade levels. Students come to the center and work one-on-one with a tutor. Tutor and student collaborate on a piece of writing – brainstorming ideas, identifying big ideas and supporting evidence, evaluating sentence and paragraph structure, and working together through multiple drafts toward a finite piece. Some students organize their thoughts by writing directly onto the special whiteboard-topped desks, while others hover purposefully over laptops, cutting and pasting blocks of text, selecting the “just right” word or phrase. Throughout the process, books winged with annotated multi-colored post-its and other notes are scattered nearby as the writing fellows patiently pose probing questions to guide the process.

 

Writing is deeply personal, and building trust is essential to offering meaningful support. Empathy is at the heart of this work, whether it’s understanding a writer’s perspective or encouraging them to trust their voice.*

Perhaps one of the writing center's most profound outcomes is the environment’s uncanny ability to foster positive peer relationships. Writing Fellows understand the vulnerability their peers have entrusted to them. They respect and value the relationships between student and tutor, which are purposeful and productive, and tutors and students learn from the process.

 

* Reflections from Writing Fellows