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
2,242,800 Reasons Behind the Culture of Reading at LMK
Reading is not just an assignment at LMK. It is an integral part of everyday life. Everyone reads for 15 minutes daily during the morning home base, called sustained silent reading, or SSR for short. Every LMK student, all 924 of them, develops a list of independent reading books and reads about 12 books each school year. Do the math. More than 11,000 books per year…13,860 minutes of reading per day...and 2,242,800 minutes middle school students will spend reading for enjoyment this year.
LMK Principal Scott Fried explains, “Stop any LMK student walking in the hallway and ask what they are reading, and you will get a detailed, thoughtful explanation of their book.” That explanation most often includes genre, plot, central conflict, and an explanation about why they selected the next book on their reading list.
Students are eager to share their reading experiences and describe their independent reading as “calming,” “relaxing,” and “a chance to take your mind off other things.” They also acknowledge how time spent with their independent reading books has impacted their writing and improved their ability to talk about in-class books. Students are excited to choose books they enjoy and love recommending books to their peers.
Building a reading culture at LMK results from ongoing planning and commitment by the ELA teachers to support reading as an enjoyable life skill and uncover the power and impact of being a reader.
ELA teachers take a systemic approach to ensuring students select books at the appropriate reading level, closely monitor the progress of independent reading books, and relate student-selected books to classroom instruction. Teachers incorporate multiple books into classroom lessons and make connections to literary concepts using independently student-selected books.
Teachers conference with students to guide reflections about reading; students also reflect on their reading with regular journal entries. Reading Workshops during class allow teachers to conduct one-on-one discussions with students about independent books and to suggest future titles. Independent reading assessments with detailed rubrics are completed quarterly to ensure students are on track with their reading.
Every ELA classroom at LMK maintains a unique library that is refreshed annually to ensure student access to books. Access and regular practice are key to building engaged and successful readers.
So, if you are looking for a good book recommendation, LMK Middle School students are a great resource.
World Languages at Elementary School: Engaging, Fun & Builds Foundation for the Future
This fall, a World Language program was reintroduced at Harrison’s elementary schools, Parsons, Harrison Avenue, Preston, and Purchase. The World Language curriculum, aligned with the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, is an immersive learning experience to help students build a foundation for language learning and acquisition. The district welcomes our elementary World Language teachers, Marissa Coulihan and Wendy Torres. ¡Bienvenidas!
The Elementary World Language program aims to expose students to languages other than English in a language-rich environment where the teachers and students use the target language most of the time. Early exposure to world languages builds a linguistic foundation for high proficiency at the secondary level.
Teachers develop lessons in which students are immersed in Spanish (the target language) and create a collaborative classroom environment that encourages students to learn from each other. As the program expands, other languages will be added in the coming years. The program is in all four elementary schools, and students have already learned foundational language skills. They use their new skills to talk about themselves and the world around them, speak to one another, sing, listen to music, and play games to practice.
Here’s what our classroom teachers have shared:
At recess, the kids practice their Spanish.
They request to go to the Spanish Google Classroom when there is downtime.
I can’t believe the whole lesson was in Spanish and the kids knew what to do!
It has been purely joyful to watch our students shine and excel!
WATCH THE VIDEOS! Students and teachers offer an inside look:
Our elementary schools are preparing to receive final authorization for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP). This program offers an inquiry-based curriculum framework that builds critical thinking and conceptual understanding. Every elementary teacher is trained and prepared to implement these units of instruction in elementary classrooms.
The approach prioritizes student-centered learning and student ownership of their education. One recent unit of study students experienced through this inquiry-based process is "How I Express Myself.” Students in kindergarten through fifth grade explored concepts such as who we are, where we are in place and time, how we express ourselves, how the world works, how we organize ourselves, and how we share the planet.
Lessons include individual exploration and group collaboration. Students review and share prior understandings and expand their knowledge to more complex concepts. Students enhance critical thinking by developing the IB Learner Profile traits. They become inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective. When the district receives final authorization for PYP in the elementary schools, Harrison will have a fully aligned approach to developing critical thinking from kindergarten through 12th grade. It will also be the only K-12 International Baccalaureate school district in Westchester.
Superintendent’s Conference Day: Professional Learning is Key to Student Success
District faculty, staff, and administrators spent Superintendent’s Conference Day on February 7th focused on professional learning. Superintendent’s Conference Day reflects the District’s commitment to supporting all employees' continuous improvement and professional development. Grade level and content teams collaborated to discuss implementing best practices to improve classroom experiences and enrich students' academic and personal growth. Faculty teams also reviewed curricula for implementing the Primary Years Program at the elementary level. The middle and high school faculty prepared for the MYP five-year review. More than 50 sessions, facilitated by district administrators and faculty, included Aligning the IB curriculum, Cultivating Student Agency, Bridging Communication, Creating Rubrics Students Can Use, and Building Family Engagement.
External Review: Co-Teaching Success
The District completed a visit from the Tri-States Consortium, a group of 62 public school districts in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut committed to collaboration and continuous improvement. Before each visit, a district identifies an area of study for evaluation by a team of educators from other districts. Our most recent visit focused on co-teaching K-12.
Dr. Wool introduced the Tri-States presentation at a recent Board of Education meeting, “In our district, every child matters….all really does mean all…the goal of our visit was to evaluate if all students in our district are provided with the opportunity to succeed in the same way.” The evaluation included 25 classroom visits, interviews with students and families, 40 teachers, and the leadership team. Visits culminate in a consultancy meeting, during which the visiting team shares its findings with members of the district study group. At the consultancy, the Tri-States team was effusive about HCSD’s co-teaching instructional practices and dedication to every student: “I would love to share these exemplars with colleagues in my District.” and “This District is magical and beyond special starting with the work that we heard about from your Superintendent.”
During his presentation to the school board, the superintendent emphasized there is ample evidence to demonstrate that co-teaching benefits not only students with special education or needs but also the general education population. The faculty's extraordinary expertise in co-teaching is truly a benefit to our entire school system.
Facilities Update
Portable classrooms at the Purchase Elementary School were removed over the winter break to prepare for the groundbreaking of the new addition of classrooms and cafeteria. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring.
Information and Announcements
CrisisGo App for Parents: As part of an ongoing effort to enhance communication with parents and improve school safety, parents are encouraged to download the CrisisGo app, which will provide you with timely and reliable information in the event of a school emergency, such as an evacuation or an unscheduled early dismissal. Please click here to download the free CrisisGo app and subscribe to one or more schools to receive school safety alert messages.
Bus Transportation: To reduce traffic congestion during drop-off and dismissal, parents/guardians of eligible students are encouraged to use the bus transportation provided by the District. To learn more about bus transportation for eligible students, click here.
