Literacy Initiatives That Promote Sustainability
Improve Writing Performance
Promote Teacher Efficacy
Enhance
Literacy
Driving Literacy Engagement
Buddinwriters Academy's Innovative Approach
Buddinwriters Academy partners with the Bernadette Francis Foundation and other donors of the diaspora to lead a literacy initiative that engages students in reading and writing. The initiative utilizes Buddinwriters’ Writing to Respond Process WTR as an approach to facilitate students’ interaction with text and writing. Students respond to higher-order thinking questions, they provide evidence-based oral or written responses. The approach engages students from PreK. Buddinwriters provides charts, workbooks, student wheels, educator resources as well as educator training, presentations, videos, and other print resources available for building teacher efficacy during implementation.
Principal Christopher along with the staff at Belles Primary School have included the initiative in their school improvement plan and are making sites utilizing the process as an approach to improve literacy from as early as Pre. K.
We are collecting data on each grade level utilizing various assessment tools.
Four other elementary schools are considering full implementation as pilot schools, but are experiencing some of the foreseeable challenges. Training, buy-in, and full understanding and commitment of all stakeholders.
Those who would like to support this initiative can do so by donating to BFF or Buddinwriters Academy and indicating Dominica Literacy Initiative.
Our Goals
At Buddinwriters, we seek to:
Improve writing performance in all students by presenting the Writing to Respond (WTR) Process as an approach that engages students in critical thinking that leads to analytical writing.
- FAQ’s about WTR
- Testimonials on use of the process
- Resources & Products
- Images of students in action
Promote teacher efficacy by providing interactive professional development based on needs assessments, or in areas such as teacher leadership, curriculum and instruction, writing, and program implementation.
- Courses that promote teacher efficacy
- Testimonials
- Images of PD in action
Our Affiliations
We Give
Story of giving, philanthropy.
Each year Buddinwriters Academy partners with businesses and non- profits to support schools and students in disadvantaged settings.
- Partnered with Bernadette Francis Foundation (BFF) to implement a writing initiative in Dominica.
- Donated over $17, 000. In educational resources and more than $10, 000 in professional development services.
Partner with business to promote “own a book” campaign. Businesses pick a school, donate a
class set and we provide the interaction with students utilizing our books of fiction.
Testimonials: Focusing on Student Success
During the peak of the pandemic we struggled with means for keeping our teachers motivated. I reached out to Dr. Watts at Buddinwriters Academy and I am glad we did. She conducted interactive virtual sessions with our team of 26 cross-curricular educators on how to teach writing to our students in remote learning. We knew we were on point when our American Sign Language (ASL) teacher realized that she could utilize WTR to teach her students how to think as writers even though they communicated differently. Our educators expressed enthusiasm and continue to request follow-up sessions.
After we solicited Dr. Watts as our virtual trainer on "How to Prepare the Elementary Child for Writing", we were concerned about keeping our teachers motivated to teach the process in non-Language Arts classes. We knew we could not afford the additional coaching and support sessions Buddinwriters offered, but we wanted to ensure that all new teachers who entered our building knew how to utilize WTR process and its resources. We reached out to Dr. Watts and she provided videos that outlined the use of each significant resource. Buddinwriters is truly concerned about students in disadvantaged settings and we are thankful.
