Curriculum Facilitators Megan Klozik and Kerry Shilkaitis presented information on D140’s new writing initiative at the September Board of Education meeting.
This year, teachers and District facilitators will work as a team to implement and support writing workshops for Kindergarten and fifth-grade students. The goal of the program is to build a community of motivated writers by boosting students’ communication skills, critical thinking, creativity, confidence, social-emotional learning, and academic growth. The District will implement year-long writing workshops with select grade levels each year through 2027 until all grades have implemented the program.
“This will be a flexible process,” stated Shilkaitis. “Our hope is that with feedback from participating teachers and evidence of student growth, we will be able to adapt it as needed in the upcoming years.”
“Writing is an essential life skill,” Klozik added. “No matter what path a student chooses in life, it’s really important for them to be able to write in a way that others can easily understand.”