The Writing Center, Menlo’s humanities peer coaching program, has adopted a new leadership system this year. The Writing Center has a complete student-led board for the first time, instead of just a few student leaders in past years. New positions include Writing Center co-leads, ninth, 10th and 11th grade leads, a tutorial lead, history liaison and learning lab lead.
The Writing Center started nearly 25 years ago, around the same time English teacher and Writing Center head Maura Sincoff started teaching at Menlo. For the majority of those years, the Writing Center only had one teacher lead, but students’ demand for Writing Center tutors has increased tremendously over the past few years. The growth began when Sincoff started recruiting more TAs for the Writing Center to help expand the Writing Center’s resources within the Menlo community.
“There’s just so much to do and we’re all very busy. We ensure that things don’t slip through the cracks and everyone is getting the support that they need,” Sincoff said. “The leadership team offers essential structure and organization that comes with a bigger program.” According to Sincoff, adding new positions came naturally, as many people were willing to help and take on leadership roles. She believes that improvement will be seen in the organization and support components of the Writing Center with the addition of new leaders.
As Writing Center co-leads, seniors Sabrina Vohra and Lauren Mrva oversee the Writing Center. “They run meetings and make sure teachers are happy; they’re the troubleshooters, [the] pulse on student voices,” Sincoff said.
Other board members include the communications lead, who is in charge of advertising the Writing Center and sending out information on where and how students can get help with writing. Meanwhile, the Writing Center is aiming to get more involved with the History Department and the Learning Lab. That is where the history liaison and learning lab lead will focus their efforts.
The tutorial lead is responsible for working with TAs to use tutorials more effectively. Last but not least, there are two grade co-leads for ninth and 10th and one for 11th, whose responsibilities include supporting TAs and teachers from their respective grades.
According to Vohra, the ultimate goal is to make the leadership system of the Center sustainable for years to come and to create a community within the Writing Center where students will have an amazing support system.
The Writing Center offers many benefits to Menlo students, the most notable being easy access to help for both students and teachers. Sincoff reflected that peer coaches are able to connect to fellow students in a way teachers cannot. “The program makes people aware of what it truly means to help someone.”
“It’s a win-win-win-win,” remarked Vohra.
