When it comes to writing coaches, the best ones may not look like editors, nor even claim any authority around semicolon usage. They may have backgrounds not in writing but as chefs, ranchers, or engineers. The greatest mentors, in fact, are the best listeners, and the ones who care most about their communities.
This is according to Cassie Sheets, executive director of Writing Coaches of Montana (writingcoachesofmontana.org), a Missoula-based nonprofit that recently partnered with Potomac School, as well as Seeley-Swan High School, to enlist and train community members to come into classrooms and work one-on-one with students aged 10-18 to think more critically and communicate more effectively through their writing.
“The objective is to help kids uncover their authentic, confident voices,” said Sheets, whose background includes education, nonprofit administration and children’s literature publishing. “Our coaches are trained to meet the students where they’re at. Sometimes, the first thing a student says is, ‘I’m not a good writer,’ but by the end of a 30-minute session, a coach has helped identify things that are great about their thinking — and that student can then move through the writing process with more joy and self-confidence.”
Writing Coaches of Montana (WCM) was born in 1995, when a group of Hellgate High School parents, in an effort to support overtaxed educators by providing supplemental coaching, created a drop-in writing center. The organization has since expanded across western Montana and grown into a classroom-based program that during the 2023-24 school year served 3,248 students — from fourth-graders learning to write topic sentences and persuasive essays to high schoolers working on college application essays and resumes — throughout Missoula, Flathead and Ravalli counties.
WCM is now branching out into the rural valleys east of Missoula thanks to Potomac School teacher and literacy specialist Ashley Olsen, who connected with a WCM board member at an English Language Arts education event last semester. “[The WCM model] aligns with our district’s efforts to sustain strong connections between our school and the wider community,” Olsen told the Pathfinder. “We anticipate that WCM’s student-centered coaching approach will build our students’ confidence as writers by allowing them to engage an authentic audience.”
Somewhat serendipitously, a teacher from Seeley-Swan High School reached out to the organization around the same time, because she had a bigger class load than usual, and sought some extra help. From there, the partnership with the neighboring schools solidified swiftly — “It’s been green lights throughout,” Sheets said — and formally kicks off next Tuesday evening, Jan. 21, when WCM staff host a new volunteer training at the Potomac School, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
All interested community members are welcome, and anyone who can’t make it is encouraged to attend a virtual training on the evening of Jan. 23. (Write admin@writingcoachesofmontana.org for more information, or to pre-register for training.)
The most crucial step to a successful partnership? Finding local volunteers, said Sheets, who explained that rather than importing coaches, WCM seeks to build community among partner schools, and to foster relationships wherein coaches and students can learn together, throughout their lifetimes.
“It’s those moments of ‘Hey, I saw Coach Bob at the grocery store’ that put into practice this idea that four walls is not a classroom — that the community is a classroom, and that learning is for life,” Sheets said. “It shows kids that what they’re being taught really does matter.”
Sheets added that it’s common for potential coaches to balk at the idea that they’re experienced enough writers to actually help students. “And I think that’s because societally, we’ve labeled writing as a grammatical experience, rather than a critical thinking experience,” she explained. “So a lot of what we do is to try to de-stigmatize the word ‘writing’ in and of itself — not just for students, but for the community members themselves, many of whom end up becoming outstanding coaches, even though they don’t have backgrounds in writing.”
WCM volunteers don’t need to commit to any set schedule; once they’re trained, coordinators reach out based on teachers’ needs, and coaches can sign on for whatever opportunities jive with their availability and interests.
Coaches will never be asked to mark up a paper with red ink, nor to put pen to a student’s paper; rather, they’re trained to ask questions aimed at empowering the student to engage more confidently in the writing process. “We typically get 30 minutes to sit with a student, so we teach volunteers some guidance around being an effective soundboard,” said Sheets, who added that the WCM model boils down to three simple steps: Praise, question and suggest.
“It’s about showing students that writing is recursive and social — that it’s not done in a silo — and that it has everything to do with articulating out loud what you’re thinking,” said Sheets. “It’s a really simple model, but the effects are profound — a lot of social emotional learning takes place when you’re being vulnerable enough to talk out loud about your writing with an adult who isn’t your teacher or parent. And the result is that many students become better communicators — and better community members.”
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