writing center rationale

[bgosar@trib.com (Betty Gosar)]

Hi! I'm new to this list.  I need some help.  During our school's last
five-year North Central Evaluation period one of our target goals was
writing across the curriculum.  A part of our plan included the
establishment of a writing center in our high school.  Our small committee
worked diligently with the writing center director at the local junior
college.  He gave us excellent ideas.  We even had a long-range program
that entailed cooperative services between the high school and the college.

        The writing center functioned on a part time basis the first year,
with a retired English teacher coming in to offer her expertise.  The
second year the center was staffed by eight language arts teachers within
our department.  Each teacher helped in the writing center for one period
every day.  As a result, the center was open full time.  Understand that
our original request was to hire a full-time writing center director, and
we still held out hopes of getting one in the future.
        To make a sad and long story as short as possible, we were given
the bad news about having to close the center at the end of the second year
and after we had passed the North Central evaluation.  "No money," was the
simple reason given.  This edict is especially frustrating because our
district has gone off the deep end spending all kinds of money on "schools
of choice."  Money is being spent on "innovative" ideas.
        My request:  We are writing a rationale to reopen the writing
center.  Money is available for programs that appear to be innovative.  Do
any of you have access to some information that might help us get our foot
in the door?  We have a new superintendent who is unaware of the existence
of our writing center, but he was also hired with the idea that he would
support schools of choice.  A good rationale for our center would help.  If
you have any information, please let me know.

Frustrated in Casper, Wyoming.
B.Gosar