Tomorrow’s writers need coaches today: Missoula high school tutoring program requires volunteers

Those of us who love the written word and understand just how important good literacy skills are can only shake our heads in dismay at the global trend that has increasing numbers of young people texting grammar-defying, punctuation-less, nearly incomprehensible abbreviations to one another.

Here in Missoula, however, we are cheered by an encouraging counter-trend made possible by Missoula County Public Schools’ support of the laudable Writing Coaches of Missoula program.

As Missoulian education reporter Jamie Kelly explained in a Thursday news article http://matr.net/article-40827.html , the school district not only considers the program a fundamental component of its reading and writing curriculum, it is actively working to expand it. And in order to do that, the district and the program need the help of Missoula’s able wordsmiths and avid readers. People who have a healthy appreciation of good writing and good education.

People like, perhaps, newspaper readers.

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HOW TO HELP

To learn more about Writing Coaches of Missoula, visit http://www.writingcoaches.wordpress.com. To find out how to become a volunteer, send an e-mail to [email protected] or write to Writing Coaches of Missoula, c/o MCPS, 215 S. Sixth St. W., Missoula, MT 59801.

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Writing Coaches of Missoula relies on these volunteers to provide one-on-one mentoring for students in local high schools and middle schools. Since the program launched in 1995 as the Hellgate Writing Center at Hellgate High School, it has brought scores of volunteers – including Missoulian employees – to local classrooms to help students hone their literacy skills. They do this in large part by sharing their own passion for, and experience with, the English language in focused meetings with individual students. In this way, they help reinforce and add depth to what students learn in the classroom.

Count Superintendent Alex Apostle as a fan. He has been instrumental in pushing for the expansion of the program, even including it in his Graduation Matters initiative to reduce the local school dropout rate. In fact, MCPS is covering about half the program’s annual expenses, providing some $10,000 in funding. The other portion of the program’s funding comes from charitable donations. Writing Coaches of Missoula is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity.

But in order to expand – and pair even more Missoula students with writing mentors – the program needs at least 40 more volunteers. Missoula, more than most communities, may be uniquely suited to provide them. Here, we have a university stocked with award-winning writers and professors, more than a handful of well-known published authors, and a well-deserved reputation as a literary capital for the region.

So consider becoming a writing coach for Missoula’s youth, and help the next generation become more capable and thoughtful communicators. The fall training schedule for new volunteers kicks off on Sept. 21.