2013-2014

Programs and Services

The English Teacher’s Friend is a 501c3 nonprofit organization

whose mission is

to offer

INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT to secondary English teachers,

to improve

the literacy of

their students through

INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS,

and to provide

COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS to teachers, schools, and districts

by collaborating with other

educationally-focused organizations.

EnglishTeachersFriend.com Email: Tamara@EnglishTeachersFriend.com

TheEnglishTeachersFriend

TeachersFriend

Englishteachers

A Note From Our Executive Director Dear educator, Thank you for taking a moment to read about our organization. In 2009 I left the classroom after teaching high school English and Reading for more than ten years. I saw where things were headed in our education system and I didn’t like it. With an ever-increasing focus on standardization, our system devalued the creative process necessary for student growth and engagement. With more emphasis on test scores, data-driven instruction, competitive teacher evaluation methods, and misleading school grades, our system ignores the cooperative support necessary for educator growth. Regretfully, things have only gotten worse in the past five years. Education reformers make headlines on a daily basis about what is best for education, but while they work out legislation and policies, our work is immediate, happening on a daily basis, helping teachers and their students find success today and tomorrow. We offer a direct and practical approach to improving the classroom environment for teachers and their students and we do this through the three objectives spelled out in our mission:

“offer individualized support to secondary English teachers”

“improve the literacy of their students through innovative programs”

and

“provide cost-effective solutions to teachers, schools, and districts by collaborating with other educationally-focused organizations.”

On the following pages you can learn how we do this at every level. We have come a long way since 2009. I have gone back into the classroom twice just to get my feet wet again and stay rooted in the issues teachers face. Our organization, which is now a 501c3 certified nonprofit, has grown to a staff of six, an invested and diligent board of directors, and a membership base of over 6,000 educators nationwide. We have worked individually with thousands of teachers and students and hope to continue this necessary work. With the literacy emphasis on Social Studies and Science under Common Core, our services are now branching into Social Studies. Please view our professional development workshops and services and read about our student programs. I invite you to visit our site www.EnglishTeachersFriend.com and register to receive our free weekly newsletter. Contact us today to see how we can help you, your school, or your district improve the quality of instruction. Sincerely, Tamara Doehring Tamara Doehring Founder and Executive Director The English Teacher’s Friend Tamara@EnglishTeachersFriend.com

Tamara Doehring Founder and Executive Director

Board of Directors President Tamara Doehring

Vice President Marjorie Weiffenbach

Treasurer Emily Byrant , CPA

Operations Director Bill Sick III, business consultant

Legal Council Sam Edwards, attorney

Michelle Oesterle Chief Operating Officer

Kristin Pitts Director of Programs

The truly unique aspect of this organization is Premium Membership.

As former high school teachers we know how precious a teacher’s time is so we provide teachers with an online personal assistant to do all those things that take time away from true teaching. Too often teachers spend too much time reinventing the wheel. A million resources are at our fingertips but the time it takes to weed through them, find the best materials, put together in a useful format is a time-consuming task. That is where we come in.

We spend our time researching issues that matter to teachers. We find materials that engage students, provide relevancy, and increase rigor. We take a teacher’s favorite lesson and help them make stronger connections to Common Core Standards. We create Powerpoints, posters, reference sheets, and unit lesson plans. And instead of reinventing the wheel, once we create these materials, we share them with the 6,000+ other educators who use our site each week. We also make this service extremely cost-effective for teachers. As a 501c3 nonprofit, our goal is to improve education, not to make a profit for shareholders. On average, our premium members save over 40 hours a year. That’s a week’s salary for our annual price of $129. Our curriculum specialists are all former teachers who value a creative and interactive approach to learning. They are well-versed in the Common Core Standards and individual state specific requirements, and are constantly on the search for better materials to support the teachers in the classroom.

To learn more or to sign up today, visit our site: www.EnglishTeachersFriend.com/Premium-Membership Premium Membership 2013-2014 Prices Monthly 6 Months Annual Multiple $12.95 $68 $129 2-5 members = $119 ea 6-10 members= $109 ea 11+ members= $99 ea

Carrie Friday Specializing in Project Based Learning

Megan Pankiewicz Specializing in Advanced Placement

Hannah Markwardt Specializing in Social Studies and Civics

Premium Membership for the busy teacher

Your Curriculum Specialists

This looks fantastic! WOW! Thank you! Again, this is so much more than I could have pulled together myself! Christine B. Florida Teacher

These resources are wonderful Thank you so very much! I can’t wait to get started! :) Carrie H. Ohio Teacher

It’s about time. your ^

As a country we spend $7 billion a year on textbooks and almost equal to that in

other ancillary programs and curriculum. This level of spending has not changed much in decades despite the fact that free (and often more reliable, accurate, and current) resources are now abundant online and through educational nonprofits such as ours. Our organization, through partnerships with other educationally-focused nonprofits, hope to change the paradigm in thinking about curriculum materials. Our belief is that money should be invested in teachers—on training, support, and implementation—so that the teacher can adapt to any material at anytime. We find and/or create free resources for teacher use. We also support teachers individually and through professional development workshops that outmatch the rates of comparable services. More importantly, we pride ourselves on supporting teachers with implementation. This level of support is not only a key to helping teachers, it is a vital part of cost-effective solutions to schools.

An email from one teacher to another…

When you were telling all of the Language Arts teachers last year about Tamara's approach to writing and how much you have enjoyed, but more importantly how much your students enjoyed it, I was eager to see it in action. I was even more interested when you explained that your students were begging you to write an essay on a week that you had other things planned. I was more than skeptical. I couldn't ever see students wanting to write an essay when it wasn't required of them.

I had my doubts before, but I'm a believer now. After the bell ringer in 6th period today, a student raised her hand and asked if she had to write an essay for homework this week and when I told her no, she responded "Well, can I write one anyway?" A number of other students chimed in and asked if they could write an essay as well. I was shocked and overjoyed all at once.

I wanted to say thank you for introducing me to this approach to writing. I never thought I would see they day where students are asking if they are allowed to write, and it's a pretty incredible thing to experience. Randy H. 6/7 Grade Language Arts

Our Website, Newsletter, and Workshops We provide thousands of free lessons and resources through our website, weekly newsletter, and workshops. But these lessons and resources and not just thrown together. We review, adapt, test, and improve the materials as best we can. Our trainings show teachers how to use free resources and we focus especially on writing practices that are both inexpensive and allow differentiation for students.

Our Summer Symposium: a week of professional development Too often professional development conferences are so expensive that only a few select teachers can attend. It is often the same teachers chosen each year and they are often already the leaders in their district. So the professional development and resources might not be reaching all those teachers who truly really need the help. We combat this issue by making our Summer Symposium an affordable possibility for all teachers.

The other way we provide cost-effectiveness at this symposium is through our exhibitors. An exhibit booth in most conferences can cost in the thousands of dollars. This limits the abilities of nonprofits and smaller companies who have less expensive, better quality products, but who do not have the marketing budgets that the top companies do.

What remains are the same top publishers with high for-profit mentalities. In many ways these for-profit companies (not all of them, but many of them for sure) are doing detrimental damage to our schools. Teachers and school leaders do not get access to inexpensive, classroom-effective resource options. For almost every expensive product out there for education, there is a less expensive or free option.

To bring those resources to our teachers and district leaders, our exhibitors are invitation only and we invite these nonprofits and like-minded, education-over-profit based companies to be both exhibitors and speakers at our conference. This allows our attendees to see first-hand the products and services available at a much reduced cost. At our core we believe money should be spent on teachers, on training, on action, rather than programs and textbooks.

How We Provide Cost Effective Solutions

All workshops will be held at the Orlando Marriott, Lake Mary 1501 International Pkwy Lake Mary, FL 32746 Special guest room rates - $119 October 10-11 Simple Solutions to the Common Core 12 The Writing Process: Brainstorm to Publication 21-22 Six Traits of Writing November 16 Alternatives to the Research Paper

December 12-13 Simple Solutions to the Common Core 14 Spoken Word Poetry for the Spring

January 15 Administrator Workshops 16-17 Simple Solutions to the Common Core 18 FCAT Writing: The Last Hurrah

March 6-7 Six Traits of Writing 8 FCAT 2.0 Test Taking Tips

April 9-10 Simple Solutions to the Common Core

July 28 -31 3rd Annual Summer Symposium On Site Workshops Arrange for one of these workshops at your school or district and save money. We also create specific trainings and workshops to fit your school/district’s particular needs. Call today to speak with one of our presenters on how we can meet your needs. 2013-2014 Fees $500 daily presenter fee Per participant materials fee based on workshop. (Ranges from $10 - $60)

Travel costs = $125 per each overnight stay (required if traveling more than 150 miles from Melbourne Florida)

2013 2014 Professional Development Schedule

I have been so impressed with the quality of writing I

am getting from my students. Following your

plans and using your materials has helped them

grow. I feel like such a stronger teacher as a result

of your resources. I can't thank you enough.

I feel wonderful about the job I did with my kids, and I sincerely thank you (again and again) for the support

and items you provide. I am such a better teacher

because of your "friendship!"

Erin F.

I have implemented so many of the amazing

things you taught us at our workshop last spring and

my students (seem to be) as fired up as I am! I have just finished looking at their 3rd paper (we turn in every

other week) and have completed a workshop. They loved workshop so

much they were begging to do it again ASAP! I

don't feel bogged down and my students are

writing more! Courtney D.

Best writing workshop I have been to in my 26

years of teaching. You’ve been there—you know

what teaching high school is like. I love the materials.

They are practical and interesting.

Catherine M.

English Dept Chair

October 21-22

Early Bird Rate $229 After October 15: $259

Register 3 from the same school and the 4th is FREE

March 6-7

Early Bird Rate $229 After February 25: $259

Register 3 from the same school and the 4th is FREE

Location: Orlando Marriott Lake Mary

1501 International Pkwy, Lake Mary, FL 32746

Special Room Rate: $119

Resources Provided

Six Traits of Writing Effective Strategies for Teaching Writing

in Grades 6-12 In this two day workshop teachers use an analytical rubric to define and assess the six traits of writing. Through the course of these two days, teachers recognize the instructional worthiness of this model. But we go beyond simply teaching the assessment portion, we share with teachers how to realistically incorporate the Six Traits into their classroom. Writer’s notebook, writing workshop, and connections to reading and state-tested skills help teachers visualize how this can work efficiently in their classroom. General Agenda Day One

• Introduction to the traits: lessons to get students started • Ideas: examine the rubric, score sample papers, practice

lessons on this trait • Organization: examine the rubric, score sample papers,

practice lessons on this trait • View sample of a class structure to manage daily writing • Word Choice: examine the rubric, score sample papers,

practice lessons on this trait Day Two

• Sentence Fluency: examine the rubric, score sample papers, practice lessons on this trait

• Conventions: examine the rubric, score sample papers, practice lessons on this trait

• Voice: examine the rubric, score sample papers, practice lessons on this trait

• Participate in a writing workshop • Review current curriculum to determine how the traits can be

incorporated • Questions and individual attention to specific needs

Creating Writers by Vicki Spandel

Six Traits Binder: rubrics, lessons, and

resources

1000 writing prompts Powerpoints

Laminated One Page Reference of

Six Traits and Common Core

Professional Development: Six Traits of Writing

Tamara Doehring loves writing and conveys that message in her trainings. Classes are innovative and exciting. Tamara presents hands-on lessons that are “tried and true” with students. The traits are presented in a way that allows for teacher choice and creativity in planning writing strategies and lessons. Engaging student lessons are presented and shared; this is a class you won’t want to miss! Julie C. Florida Teacher

Featured Speaker Simple Solutions

Practical, Engaging, and Creative Approaches to Teaching Common Core

This two day workshop assists teachers in making the most of their time in the classroom. So often teachers attend excellent workshops or learn strategies that they want to implement, but then the hectic day-to-day puts implementation on the back burner.

In this workshop we will closely explore parts of the curriculum teachers can let go, where lessons and skills can merge, and what might need more emphasis. We will look at how a strong focus on writing can be the best use of your time in the classroom. More writing DOES NOT have to equal more grading, but it DOES lead to improved skills in reading comprehension, critical thinking, creativity and communication. Through engaging writing lessons, student apathy fades.

This hands-on workshop will model for teachers exactly how this is done. Teachers will walk away with hundreds of ready-to-use lessons and materials to engage students in every aspect of the English curriculum, all in a schedule that is manageable, while meeting the standards of Common Core. Many teachers feel this workshop reasserts that what they have been doing in class is the right thing. Others feel it is a refreshing paradigm shift in thinking. All agree that it breathes life back into their teaching. General Agenda Day One

• Introduce writer’s notebook • Discuss and practice writing like a student • Common Core connections • View sample of a class structure to manage daily writing • Grammar in context of student work • Discuss the writing process: brainstorm to publication • Examine reading connections to the writing • Practice lessons of in-depth analysis using shorter texts • Reading discussion: Fiction vs. Nonfiction, Whole class vs.

Independent Reading Day Two

• Participate in a writing workshop • Poetry for Literary standards • Media Literacy Skills • Modern Research • Speech and Debate • Questions and individual

attention to specific needs

Professional Development: Simple Solutions

October 10-11 Early Bird Rate $199

After October 1: $229 Register 3 from the same school

and the 4th is FREE

December 12-13 Early Bird Rate $199

After December 1: $229 Register 3 from the same school

and the 4th is FREE

January 16-17 Early Bird Rate $199

After January 10: $229 Register 3 from the same school

and the 4th is FREE

April 9-10 Early Bird Rate $199 After April 1: $229

Register 3 from the same school and the 4th is FREE

Location:

Orlando Marriott Lake Mary 1501 International Pkwy,

Lake Mary, FL 32746 Special Room Rate: $119

Resources Provided

2000 MORE Writing Prompts for Creative

Common Core

Laminated One Page Reference of

Common Core

Simple Solutions for Relevant, Time-Smart Teaching (book and cd)

My students LOVE this curriculum as do I. I am so excited to come and teach

each and every day! Thank you!

Holly R., FL Teacher

Professional Development: Saturday Morning Minis

October 12th The Writing Process:

Brainstorm to Publication

November 16th Beyond the

Research Paper

December 14th Spoken Word Poetry

for Next Semester

January 18th FCAT Writing

One Last Time

March 8th FCAT Reading 2.0

The Test as a Genre

All Saturday sessions are at the Orlando Marriott, Lake Mary from 9 am -12 pm. A continental breakfast will be served and we will have time after the meeting to

speak one on one with Premium Members.

$40 Includes cont breakfast and

materials

You will be awed by the power of words. Using spoken word poetry as an "in" students learn the literary skills needed in Common Core. They write, they listen, they perform. This isn't fluff, either. Most of the CCSS can be addressed through this model. Anyone interested in participating in our Voices IN Verse Summer Slam is encouraged to come and find out what we have in store for the Spring season.

We will explore several extended research processes to replace the standard dreaded research paper. Today's students need to learn media literacy and research skills on a daily basis. We will look at doing this through multi-genre, blogs, magazine models, and more.

Last year's success with this workshop has us sharing it one last time. Spend a few hours going over a model that encourages creative, critical thinking needed for ANY writing test, but is geared specifically to the do's and don'ts of the FCAT. You will leave with ALL the tools you need to take your students through a 30-day workshop model.

This workshop shares details about FCAT 2.0 that students

need to know. We will share some engaging ways to target test-taking skills in the final weeks leading up to the test. As we always profess, testing should be taught as a genre, not as a complete curriculum. You will leave with all the tools you need to help your students through these final few weeks before testing.

Our first workshop serves as a mini version of day one of Simple Solutions and provides teachers with resources and ideas on how students can utilize the writing process while grading less and teaching grammar in context. Because publication puts the relevancy back into learning for so many students, we will look at dozens of avenues for student publication, both in the classroom and beyond.

Summer Symposium Every year we hold a Summer Symposium designed to EMPOWER 500 teachers. We have three philosophies that drive this summer conference and make our professional development unlike any other.

The Best Presenters We bring together the best teacher-presenters, those who are “in the trenches” and will share by doing, not by lecturing. Our workshops are all hands-on and provide practical approaches to teaching. We build in time for collaboration and reflection as well, so teachers have the time to ask questions, share ideas, and feel prepared for implementing in the new school year.

Affordable As mentioned before, one thing that keeps a lot of teachers from attending these important professional development trainings are the costs. We purposely make this event as inexpensive as we can to encourage all teachers to attend. With our exhibitors providing free and discounted resources, teachers will also save money all year with the materials they learn about and take home.

Engaging! We are constantly professing that education must be engaging for our students. They need to find relevancy and be offered choice. Motivation is key. Why should teacher learning be any different? We realize many of our attendees are on their summer break; the teaching profession is more than a job—it’s a lifestyle. We honor teachers and their time by making this event as empowering as possible. We blend personal and professional learning to empower the whole teacher. A tired, stressed, unhealthy teacher is not the best scenario for a classroom. So, we offer sessions on how to relieve stress and manage personal time. We also want teachers to feel what it means to be a learner so we provide opportunities new learning opportunities like painting workshops, health and exercise classes, or museum visits.

We want all our attendees leaving the summer symposium feeling refreshed, reinvigorated, and empowered to take on the new school year. Best of all, we will be there to support them all along the way.

Professional Development: Online, Administration, and Summer Workshops

One of the best professional development activities I've ever participated in! I admire what you are doing to improve writing instruction in Florida. Jane Hatfield Director of Secondary Academic Services Glades County School District

Online Workshops Every Monday night starting in October of 2013, we offer a one hour mini-lesson workshop. These workshops will be announced on a monthly basis and will be created based on teacher need. Through our newsletters and social media we will poll our members to see what they most want to learn, and then we deliver. Visit our website for more details.

Administrators Workshops This year we are eager to get more administrators involved in what we do. Several of these workshops will take place throughout the year and are designed to provide an overview of our workshop and philosophies, and share how we can save schools and districts money with our resources and assistance.

Student Programs and Services

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards has recognized the exceptional vision of our nation’s youth. Students in grades 7 through 12 are provided an opportunity to be noticed for their creative talents, to earn scholarships, and to have their works exhibited or published. Alumni include visionaries like Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Redford, and Ken Burns just to name a few. In the past 90 years, the Awards have grown to become the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S., and the nation’s largest source of scholarships for creative young artists and writers.

As the program continues to broaden each year, the Alliance of Young Artists & Writers (the Scholastic nonprofit that runs the contest) acquires regional affiliates to provide local recognition for students across the country. The English Teacher's Friend was honored in 2011 to become an affiliate for 28 districts in Florida. In our first year we saw 12 students win a national award and over 500 students receive local recognition and awards.

Now, two years later, the alliance has assigned The English Teacher’s Friend to be the writing affiliate for 42 select counties of Florida (see the list below). Students in these districts have the opportunity to compete both locally and nationally for awards and scholarship opportunities. Our six regional award ceremonies recognize top writers in each region and our journal, Emergence, publishes the winners within our 42 counties. By 2015 we expect most districts in Florida to be under our affiliation. We also expect our total national winners and scholarship recipients to double.

To further encourage students to write toward these opportunities, and to assist educators in teaching writing, we offer outreach and workshops for both teacher and student. We encourage you to learn more about this prestigious award by visiting The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards site at www.artandwriting.org. We also offer sponsorship options to support this service our many aspiring writers. Contact The English Teacher’s Friend if you are interested (Tamara@EnglishTeachersFriend.com) or if you have any questions.

Six Regions in Our Florida Affiliation (42 districts)

Panhandle Bay Escambia Leon Okaloosa Santa Rosa

Northeast Alachua Clay Duval Levy Nassau St. Johns Putnam

Central West Citrus Hernando Hillsborough Pasco Pinellas Polk Central East Brevard Flagler Orange Osceola Seminole Sumter Lake Marion Volusia

Southwest Charlotte Collier DeSoto Glades Hardee Hendry Highlands Lee Manatee Sarasota

Southeast Indian River Martin Okeechobee St Lucie Palm Beach

Writing Categories

Poetry Humor

Short Story Flash Fiction Journalism

Novel Writing Dramatic Script

Persuasive Writing Personal Essay/Memoir

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing Portfolio*

*only open to graduating seniors

Student Programs and Services

Voices in Verse

Spoken Word Poetry has enormous power.

This centuries-old, word-based performance art appeals to youth as a means of expressing life experiences, or by providing frank commentary on political, societal, or religious issues. Spoken Word poetry is a major motivator for students at all levels, but particularly those who are least engaged in school. It is one of the most powerful bridges from disinterest to engagement for students. It is an “in” to the world of words.

NAS

The statistics are disturbing. 23 of every 100 young black male dropouts end up in jail. The achievement gap has become a focal point of education reform efforts but improvements are slow. The English Teacher’s Friend is committed to bringing more awareness to the school-to-prison-pipeline as well as the achievement and discipline disparities among race.

Our program, NAS—Not A Statistic, is in its first year as we await funding. This innovative school program is designed for African American males ages 13-17 who are considered at-risk for dropping out. These select students are provided opportunities to visit Florida landmarks of significance in black history and civil rights where they will read and write about the issues and histories affecting them.

But this art form, despite its appeal, is not present in most classrooms. Our organization wants to change that. We want to see Poetry Slams, the competitive setting for spoken word poets, happening in our schools across the state. In the past decade youth poetry has gained attention nationwide. Youth Speaks, Inc. (an internationally known, youth-focused organization) hosts an annual spoken word poetry competition for America’s youth called Brave New Voices. It is our goal, through a series of competitions, to sponsor a Florida team of youth poets to Brave New Voices each year. We expect student motivation to be even greater when they see a potential award such as this.

We are currently in the first year of developing this program This past summer we held a youth spoken word workshop and have disseminated information to area schools. By December 2013 we will have completed our curriculum which is based on aligning the Common Core Standards with the power of Spoken Word. This Spring, 2014, we begin local competitions and workshops. By 2015 we will host our first Florida Spoken Word Festival where a winning team will be awarded a trip to the national competition.

For more information or to view examples of classroom worthy Spoken Word Poetry see our site at: www.englishteachersfriend.com/spoken-word-poetry

This program will help students generate a stronger interest and engagement with literacy. They will also meet with motivational speakers, learn the disheartening statistics of their demographic, and attend leadership workshops to take on roles as mentors in the following school year for those who show the most promise. Through this program of specialized, relevant, learning opportunities we hope to bring students back to school as a place for positive growth.

Make a copy of this page, complete, and send in for registration or visit

www.EnglishTeachersFriend.com

REGISTRATION Date Early bird rate Regular rate Qty. Total

2 da

y w

orks

hop

Simple Solutions to the Common Core

October 10-11 $199 (by October 1) $229

December 12-13 $199 (by December 1) $229

January 16-17 $199 (by January 9) $229

April 9-10 $199 (by April 1) $229 Six Traits of Writing October 21-22 $229 (by October 15) $259

March 6-7 $229 (by February 25) $259

Satu

rday

Date Regular rate Qty. Total The Writing Process: Brainstorm to Publication October 12 $40

Beyond the Research Paper November 16 $40

Spoken Word Poetry for the Spring December 14 $40 FCAT Writing January 18 $40

FCAT Reading 2.0 Testing as Genre March 8 $40

Pr

emiu

m

Mem

bers

hip

Annual Individual 129.00

Annual cost per person for 2-6 119.00

Annual cost per person for 6-10 109.00

Annual cost per person for 11+ 99.00

Add ON with a two day workshop registration 99.00

Total

Payment Information: � Check included (make check payable to The English Teacher’s Friend) � PO attached

Send payments to: The English Teacher’s Friend C/O Tamara Doehring 2781 Michigan Street Melbourne, FL 32904 Name Email Notes

To pay using a credit card visit: www.englishteachersfriend.com/professional-development