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West students lose writing help; enrollment drop blamed

Susan Troller  —  4/26/2008 2:53 pm

A venerable and valued West High School academic institution has been cut from next year's schedule, and this time the immediate blame lies with dwindling enrollment projections for Madison high schools and middle schools, not the perennial budget cuts caused by state-imposed revenue caps.

The Writing Lab, a 30-year tradition at West which provides students with one-on-one help for writing papers and college essays, will be cut next year, Principal Ed Holmes confirmed.

John Howe, chair of West's English department, said the Writing Lab gets about 900 visits a year from students seeking help for everything from developing early ideas or themes to preparing final drafts.

Students get help, he said, with English papers, but also with writing assignments from virtually every other class that has a written component.

"Every year, we have students who have graduated that come back to West, telling us how well they were prepared for college writing assignments because of the Writing Lab," Howe said.

The writing lab is staffed four periods a day, five days a week by members of West's English department.

"People are concerned about it, and rightfully so," Holmes said in an interview Friday evening. "I'm concerned myself."

But Holmes said current enrollment projections predict that the school will be down about 80 students next year, and, as a result, will be expected to cut the equivalent of 5.2 full time staff positions or full time equivalents (FTE).

Budget allocations and subsequent staffing decisions at Madison schools are based on enrollment.

Holmes said that eliminating the Writing Lab will provide a trim of 0.8 FTE from the budget, and that the other necessary cuts will be made by eliminating some sections of classes to reflect the lower number of students predicted at West next year. He said the program costs over $50,000 each year.

Holmes said he places a priority on offering a wide range of courses to serve a wide range of students, adding that it is important to retain a range of business, marketing, music, art and family/consumer education courses as well as core curriculum classes that focus on reading, writing, science, social studies and mathematics.

"I'd like to see other ways to get our students writing support, if possible," he said. That could include bringing in UW students or other volunteers.

In a recent e-mail, West student Reuben Henriques wrote, "I'm not entirely sure who to turn to in order to urge the school to reconsider this decision and examine other avenues of cost cutting.

"In my four years at West, I've found this an immeasurably useful resource, not only to help me polish papers for my classes, but also as a way to get editing help on college essays and other extracurricular writing. ... Writing well is a valuable skill -- perhaps one of the most valuable things students take away from their English classes."

Susan Troller  —  4/26/2008 2:53 pm