Sarah-Hope Parmeter (center), Deb Bell, and a student
at Ohlone Elementary School
Along with its programs for educators, CCWP also supports three programs
that put UCSC writing students in contact with K-12 students throughout
the Monterey Bay region. The university students not only serve as writing
tutors but as mentors to the younger children. "The experience puts
the university into the mental landscapes of the younger children and gives
them some firsthand knowledge of what life in college might be like for
them," says Don Rothman, CCWP founder and director.
One of three programs was launched nine years ago by Sarah-Hope Parmeter,
a writing instructor at UCSC, and Deb Bell, a fifth-grade teacher at Ohlone
Elementary School in Watsonville. The collaboration began during a CCWP
summer institute, Parmeter recalls. "Deb saw UCSC as a wonderful resource
that was so close to her students and yet seemed so inaccessible,"
Parmeter says.
To bridge the gap, Parmeter and Bell developed a program that involves weekly
correspondence between university and elementary students, visits by each
group of students to the other's school, and a midyear potluck for all students
and families. This past year the program moved to Alianza School (also in
Watsonville), where Parmeter is now working with fifth-grade teacher Diane
Bloch.
In any given quarter, at least half the UCSC students in Parmeter's writing
course are native Spanish speakers. The mentorship these students provide
is especially important for the younger students who also speak Spanish
as a first language. "These young students may be the first in their
family with an opportunity to go to college, and it helps them and their
parents to hear from students who are already at UCSC who have come from
similar situations," Parmeter says.
Another program began four years ago when UCSC writing lecturer Jeff Arnett
teamed up with fifth- and sixth-grade teachers at Westlake School in Santa
Cruz. Each year, Arnett's students become mentors to some 100 Westlake students.
During the course, each of Arnett's students authors an illustrated story
(many of which have been donated to the Westlake library), while the Westlake
students' work is published in an anthology.
"My students feel like they're making a difference and the Westlake
students get a firsthand view of the university," Arnett says. "It's
a great cross-fertilization."
Roz Spafford, also a UCSC writing lecturer, oversees the Writing and Reading
Action Plan (WRAP). Now in its 10th year, WRAP pairs UCSC writing students
with approximately 40 teenage mothers annually from Watsonville and Santa
Cruz high schools.
"Trying to be a mother at 15 or 16 is extremely demanding," Spafford
says. "It can be hard to think beyond the immediate demands of life
as a new parent. The writing that they do helps them to think about their
lives in fresh ways. They can express their feelings, and in that expression
comes a desire for change and stability."
As with students in the other two programs, WRAP participants also visit
the campus. The young women get a glimpse of college life and learn about
the support services on campus for students with families. They also meet
with campus representatives and UCSC students.
The visit caps an experience that can be
life-changing, Spafford says. "These
young women get a vision in their mind of what it could be like to go to
college. Their experience plants a seed of belief that maybe one day they
can come here too." --Barbara McKenna
