Summati n Weekly
USPS Publication Number 16300
THE
T h i s C o m mu n i t y N ew s p a p e r is a publication of Escambia / Santa Rosa Bar Association
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 16, No. 04
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
January 27, 2016
1 Section, 8 Pages
The Write Way: UWF Writing Lab Guides Washington High Students
Putting the T in PLT:
An Interview with New Executive Director Tyler Kercher By Dawn Gresko When recognizing different forms of art, we tend to forget that writing is another art form, hence the term the “language arts.” Whether the word is spoken or written, words are crafted the same as any other piece of art: you start with a medium (paper or electronic pages) and use tools (writing utensils or keyboards) to relay a message to the viewer. As with other art forms, in writing you gain credibility when you use techniques correctly. Hence, as anyone who’s dabbled in the language arts will tell you, it’s important to know the rules of writing so even if you choose the break them, you can rest assured that you’ve chosen to write the “right” way. Here is where the University of West Florida (UWF) Writing Lab and Booker T. Washington High School partnership comes in: UWF established a satellite writing lab at Washington High in fall of 2015 with the goal of offering high schoolers grammatical guidance and advice on how to communicate effectively in papers and other written assignments that require thoughtful responses. The idea for opening the satellite lab arose from a series of conversations that took place at county workshops for teachers over the summer of 2015. A few who were heavily involved in the conversation of opening a satellite lab at Washington High included UWF’s Writing Lab director Mamie Hixon, Washington High’s innovation specialist Alisha Wilson, and Brian Spivey the language arts supervisor for Escambia County. Before the satellite lab could open, Hixon had to present a proposal on how implementing writing lab services at Washington High would work. She designed a plan, outlining how three of UWF Writing Lab’s workers could be available to meet with students during afterschool hours and the 20-minute lunch periods on Mondays, Thursdays, and possibly Tuesdays. After Hixon’s plan was approved, it was confirmed that labbies would be available from 11 am to 4 pm at least two days a week to accommodate face-toface sessions for paper tutoring and paper reading at Washington High.
The brief period of time for paper reading sessions was a challenge to plan around, since sessions usually take up to an hour at the on-campus UWF Writing Lab. According to Hixon, to make the most of the 20 minutes, students looking for a paper reading will have a Google account, or another type of online drop box, to which they’ll submit papers before showing up for a face-to-face with a labbie. One recurring problem the Writing Lab has already seen with submissions is failure to cite sources. The labbies will work to impress upon high schools students the importance of crediting their sources of information correctly, so they can avoid committing plagiarism. The UWF “labbies,” a term of endearment for those who work in the UWF Writing Lab, hope to return to Washington High for more sessions once everyone is back from the winter break around mid-January. The first three labbies to work with Washington High students were: Andrew Dunlap (tutor and paper reader), Rustian Thelps (writing lab manager), and Karen Manning (tutor and paper reader). All Writing Lab services take place in Washing High’s Innovation Center, which houses a library along with a robotics area and SPARK lab. The goal behind the partnership was not only to help students improve their writing and grammar skills to be successful communicators in all walks of life, but to prepare them for college-level writing assignments. “Let’s take the grades out of the equation,” said Hixon. “Let’s understand the importance of being an exemplary communicator. No matter what profession you go into you need to be able to use writing as a tool that can create opportunities for you that are both professional and social. Writing is a social, educational and intellectual message about its sender (the writer).” The first round of paper readings took place from October and continued through Dec. 11, 2015. In November, the writing lab tallied up a total of 19 student submissions from Washington High.
In addition to helping the high school students improve their writing, the opportunity for labbies to work in a school setting with high school students serves as a type of field experience, especially for those aspiring to be teachers after earning their degrees at UWF. By offering its services to high school students, who are not too far off from picking out colleges, the UWF Writing Lab hopes it will encourage those students to seek admission to UWF. “Opening the satellite lab at Washington has been dream come true for me,” said Alisha Wilson who, aside from working as the innovation specialist at Washington High since April of 2015, also served four years as a UWF labbie. “Everyone benefits from a second pair of eyes, but one-on-one tutoring and paper reading is hard to accomplish in a classroom setting. It’s an invaluable service that provides the student with meaningful feedback.” According to Wilson, students are very excited for the opportunity to improve their papers before the teacher has a chance to read them. Likewise, teachers are looking forward to reading papers that have seen one or more revisions. As for bringing writing labs to other schools, there are several ideas in the works but nothing is concrete yet. One of the more feasible options is to take alumni from grammar classes at UWF and place them in local high schools as paper readers for a field experience, which can work as symbiotic relationship: it helps the UWF students by preparing them to be teachers, and simultaneously helps high school students prepare for entering college and the real world as a better communicators. “We need to have a grammar revolution in our school systems,” said Hixon. “It’s time to make the lesson interesting by taking it out of the textbook. Make it interesting, make it real, make it utilitarian—all those things it needs to be. Opening writing labs and making paper reading services available to students in our high schools seems as good of a place as any to start.”
Tyler Kercher has helped put the T in PLT (Pensacola Little Theatre) since he joined the crew in May 2015. The executive director of PLT is a fellow Pensacolian and graduate of the University of West Florida and he is bringing his creative business mind to one of the oldest continually operating theatres in the Southeast. What did you do before joining PLT? After college, I was hired as the executive director of SkillsUSA Florida, a nonprofit student organization that prepared technical students for the workforce. In that role, I oversaw 10,000 high school and technical school students, 2,000 instructors, and fostered industry partnerships across the state. What are you bringing to the table as the new executive director? I am always looking for new and exciting ways to reach and exceed our goals at PLT. Our formula is quite simple: we are constantly evaluating our performance. We find out what we are doing well and do more of that. Likewise, we take what has not been successful and do less of that. What are some of your responsibilities? I ensure that the mission, vision, and goals of the organization, as determined by the Board of Trustees, are executed in our operations. I oversee a staff of eight individuals with a diverse pool of talents. Additionally, I focus on grant-writing, fundraising, and managing the leases for the tenants of the Pensacola Cultural Center. What are some of the challenges you face? There is truly something new to do every single day. What has been the most challenging, so far, has been the urge to tackle too many tasks at one time. We are excited to address facility needs, such as expanding the women’s bathrooms, updating the 1990s decor, improving theatre lighting, and digitizing the sound. Without a winning Powerball ticket, we will have to continue with our plan to pursue these improvements over time! What are your plans for PLT? Many people don’t know the rich history of the Pensacola
Photo by Mitzi Holt
Little Theatre. We were incorporated in 1936 as part of FDR’s New Deal, under the Works Progress Administration. PLT is the oldest continually operating theatre in the Southeast, and we celebrate our 80th year in 2016. My plans for PLT are to highlight that rich tradition in Pensacola and broaden our audience-base. We recognize that many people haven’t stepped foot into our building, which is rich in history itself (since its the old Escambia County Court of Records and Jail from 1911), and we want to change that. Through diversifying show selection, and broadening our offerings to the community, we seek to be an anchor of the arts in Downtown Pensacola. Why is it an exciting time to be part of PLT? PLT is in the heart of a booming Downtown Pensacola. We are a stone’s throw from the activity on Gallery Nights and festivals in Seville Square. We are ready to make PLT more visible to the community and share this tradition with the Pensacola community. Is there anything else readers should know about you and your involvement with PLT? I am honored to serve as executive director at the Pensacola Little Theatre, but I am just a piece of the wheel in this operation. We have an outstanding and knowledgeable staff that deserves all the credit in the world. Furthermore, PLT wouldn’t exist without the dedication of an extensive list of volunteers. Between the Pensacola Little Theatre Guild, the Board of Trustees, the Artistic Committee, the Treehouse Committee, costumers, set designers, lighting and sound designers, painters, carpenters, engineers, stagehands, stage managers, production managers, directors, choreographers, music directors, musicians, ushers, house managers, and actors, we are able to provide such a great service to the community. Last year, over 1,000 individuals logged community service hours here at the theatre, totaling over 100,000 community service hours.