FAQs

What do I call Writing Center students?:

→ Mentors. After much discussion last year, the 7 students who made up this course wanted to be called mentors instead of tutors, coaches, consultants, etc. They believe mentors help guide other students, set goals, and learn alongside student “clients” who come to improve their writing in a non-evaluative way. We plan on keeping that verbiage this year.

Who are this year's mentors?:

→ Click on the "Our Staff" page to access our mentor photos and bios.

How will I know if the Writing Center is closed?:

Please follow us on Instagram at @soloriowritingcenter to see if we have an unexpected closure. We try to give ample notice of expected closures.

I want a student of mine to attend the Writing Center on X day:

Great! That is likely doable if it falls within our hours of operation. Here is what we ask of you.

1. Communicate with your student that you are requiring/asking them to attend. Send an email to Ms.Calvo, CCing the student, with the date you want them to attend.

2. In that email, include what the session is for so that the student is aware, too.

A student in my class told me you gave her permission to leave class to attend the Writing Center:

→ Nope. Your class is important, and your student should be there unless you indicate otherwise. Students must attend the Writing Center during their lunch period UNLESS that student’s teacher would like to give permission during their class time. Please shoot Ms.Calvo an email letting her know you’re sending the student down during your class time, and she will confirm when they arrive.

I’d like a Writing Center Mentor to come to my classroom to help with drafting/revising/editing/etc.:

→ You can sign out or “rent” students to come to your 4th, 5th or occasionally 6th period class for any content area. Please be aware they are required to check in with me the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes at the end of the class period.

1. Go to our website https://sites.google.com/cps.edu/soloriowritingcenter/home?authuser=0

2. Click on our Appointments tab

3. Scroll and click the google calander link of any of the mentors you would like your student to receive assistance from

My student’s paper is wrong/the feedback the Writing Center mentors gave was incorrect:

→ The Solorio Writing Center strives to help students be better writers, with a focus on the person, not just the paper. With that in mind, we hope the act of coming to the Writing Center to ask for help is a strong social-emotional skill that will help them for the rest of their lives. Secondly, the Writing Center is human (and student) run. While the students do a lot of “professional development” around improving their understanding of grammar, mechanics, and structure, they are not necessarily experts, nor is that the focus of our Writing Center. That being said, please do not hesitate to contact Ms.Calvo with feedback so we can continuously improve. We would also love your rubrics and assignments, as well as any information about due dates if you have a big assignment coming up; that way, we can ensure we are supporting students in the best way possible.