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A friend of OSA has generously offered a $5,000 matching donation to help us fund the WriterCoach Connection and the
Academic Support Coordinator.
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"Cultivating Excellence" is OSA's theme for the 2011-2012 school year. One of the APT's goals is to help cultivate academic excellence;we have declared 2011-2012 to be The Year of Academics. We want to put in place resources that will help our kids succeed, and we want to manage those resources in the best way possible. To that end, the APT is working on several initiatives to help our students succeed at OSA.
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We have worked with administrators and faculty members to bring the WriterCoach Connection to OSA. It will start in the second semester this year as a pilot program in the ninth grade.
The Tutoring Center has become The Learning Center, an enhanced and expanded program for study groups and tutoring.
We also plan steps to make community library resources available to all students and to help students learn and apply research skills.
To help gather, coordinate, and manage the resources for all of these efforts OSA has hired a half-time Academic Support Coordinator. This faculty position,which we anticipate will grow into a full-time position in 2012-2013, will be funded jointly by the APT and OSA.
Excellence in Academics is important, and we want every student to succeed. Top
The OSA Learning Center, formerly the Tutoring Center, is open Tuesdays, Wedesdays and Thursdays from 3:15P to 5:30P in room 245.
Students at all levels are encouraged to take advantage of this FREE resource. It is a place where students meet in study groups for major tests and assignments, obtain tutoring, complete homework assignments, plan earning projects, and meet new challenges.
Here is a link to some Study Resources which might prove to be helpful.
The Learning Center has the hands-on support of our Academic Support oordinator, who recruits and manage resources, helps develop procedures, and provides direction. However, this parent-led after school program depends on all our support. We will need volunteers all year. If you are able to tutor (even for a short period of time), provide snacks, make a donation to the snacks & supplies fund, or for further information, please contact: Wendy Snyder, our Academic Support Coordinator. Or you may use the on-line sign-up sheet to indicate your interest.And please check here, and watch the weekly OSA News, for updates as the 2011-2012 school year progresses. Thank you. Top
The WriterCoach Connection is a program that helps build writing skills by working with students one on one, in class, on their English writing assignments. An on-site program coordinator manages the program in collaboration with the students' English teachers. The coaches are trained volunteers who commit to two class periods a month to work directly with students.
The WriterCoach Connection program is operating in a number of schools in the Bay Area. It gas been brought to OSA this spring semester as a pilot program in the ninth grade. To make this successful, we need volunteer coaches, who will receive training and commit to just two class periods per month. It is a rewarding endeavor. If you are interested, please contact: Wendy Snyder, our Academic Support Coordinator. Or you may use the on-line sign-up sheet to indicate your interest. For more information, visit the WriterCoach Connection website. Top
In today's economy it is important to make the best possible use of the resources we have. To help us leverage the use of our resources to the best advantage, the APT proposed to fund a half-time Academic Resource Coordinator faculty position at OSA. OSA proposed to contribute to the funding of this position, and Wendy Snyder, a credentialed teacher and OSA parent, was brought on board to fill the position. Wendy's responsibilities encompass several main areas:
- Coordination of the Learning Center, including recruiting tutors, developing interventions for at-risk students, coordinate with other tutoring programs at OSA Tutoring Coordinator: recruit and coordinate volunteer tutors; develop interventions for at-risk students (processes for intake, student planning, monitoring students' progress); develop and manage the Learning Center; help develop and coordinate the WriterCoach Connection pilot program at OSA. Library Liaison: create alliances and linkages with community library resources; develop and implement a plan to equip all OSA students with library cards; act as a liaison between teachers and libraries to raise faculty awareness of what's available to them through outside libraries; and to bring librarians and other available resources into the classrooms as needed; develop strategies to teach research skills to students. Top Resource Scout: locate and forge strategic alliances with community resources, such as off-campus tutoring and after school programs. AP Reader: assist AP teachers.
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