About US:
The Statistics:
The Solution: College Writing Buddies works change this. By physically and virtually connecting low-income public schools and university students, College Writing Buddies delivers individual writing support to the students who need it most . Using Google Drive, college buddies work with teachers to deliver virtual, differentiated feedback to students on all writing projects. Even from a dorm room, a college volunteer can give a student the support they need to make it to and through college! |
Above: Watch our students email their buddies for the first time!
Below: Watch our student College Writing Buddy Commercial! |
Our Organizational Objectives:
1. Improve student writing and academic self-confidence
2. Unite local communities and foster relationships between public school and university student.
3. Bring awareness and exposure to the literacy gap and problems surrounding American education.
History:
College Writing Buddies was founded in 2014 by Hilah Barbot and Adam Kohler from KIPP Central City Academy and in partnership with Danny Fitzpatrick, a rockstar freshman at Tulane University. We met Danny at a service fair in December, and the three of us launched CWB's at Tulane in January 2015. With 34 brave volunteers, we completed our first pilot semester and served over 100 sixth grade students.
Results:
1. Improve student writing and academic self-confidence
2. Unite local communities and foster relationships between public school and university student.
3. Bring awareness and exposure to the literacy gap and problems surrounding American education.
History:
College Writing Buddies was founded in 2014 by Hilah Barbot and Adam Kohler from KIPP Central City Academy and in partnership with Danny Fitzpatrick, a rockstar freshman at Tulane University. We met Danny at a service fair in December, and the three of us launched CWB's at Tulane in January 2015. With 34 brave volunteers, we completed our first pilot semester and served over 100 sixth grade students.
Results:
- Writing Growth: The CWB writing cycle consists of two rounds of feedback- a first draft round in which the buddy provides feedback and a preliminary score and a second, final round with a permanent score. By the end of the semester, students averaged over 3 points of growth on a 10 point writing scale between the two rounds.
- Test Scores: In our pilot semester, our participating students outscored all previous years of 6th grade students on both Lexile (reading level) and NWEA language arts tests. We are still waiting for PARCC test results.
- Program Love: Our students and College Writing Buddies loved the pilot semester. Out of the 34 Tulane students who joined us for our pilot semester, 32 decided to return next year with over 15 applying for leadership positions. Students and parents at our school have expressed incredible love for the program with students raising over $700 to make their field trip possible.