Results

At the start of our journey, our faculty had limited experience with Readers and Writers Workshop. Over the past two years, they have become more confident in their skills delivering a workshop model. Our balanced literacy program has become more streamlined and components of Readers and Writers Workshop can be seen throughout all of our homerooms. (Sue Williams, Principal, Pechersk School International, Kyiv, Ukraine)

Staff were ignited by the quality of the training and the tremendous respect and care that Monica took to understand each of them; they were consistently eager to receive feedback, instruction and direction from her. After each visit, staff wanted more, insisted on more!  (Ann Kox, Superintendent, Wausaukee School District, USA and Principal, American School of Valencia, Spain)

After eight visits (most of them a week in duration), the Wausaukee Elementary School was in a very significantly different place.  Not only was there a fully aligned literacy curriculum (writing, reading and word study), but staff were collaborating in powerful ways, teachers eagerly embraced training at Teachers College, and the path was paved for a coaching role (which the Board also approved).  Student achievement surged: in the first year 12% more students were reading on or above grade level in January than in September, and this continued steadily as capacity continued to build. (Ann Kox, Superintendent, Wausaukee School District, USA and Principal, American School of Valencia, Spain)

Monica has consistently been able to operate effectively on the macro level–putting goals and systems in place, maintaining awareness of the stakeholder input, progress and next steps. She is equally gifted in working at the micro-level–causing the goals to drive calendared meeting agendas, identifying the kind of conversations that will move people forward, flexibly modifying her thinking when new information and approaches come to light. (Ann Kox, Superintendent, Wausaukee School District, USA and Principal, American School of Valencia, Spain)