Starting over…kind of…
Starting over. Here’s my story.
Starting over is never easy. But I don’t like to think about this moment as “starting over.” I’d rather think about it as “picking up where I left off.” But this time, I’m wiser. I have fresh ideas. And, I am more energized than ever to make a difference in literacy!
Back in the day, I worked on the Alabama Direct Assessment on Writing (ADAW) for many years as a consultant to schools across Alabama. For the most part, I focused on schools in Decatur City Schools and Morgan County. I was hired to consult because their scores ranged from 8% to 43% meeting standards on the ADAW. The problem wasn’t just a North Alabama issue. Scores across the state were in this range. First and foremost, I knew there was no magic wand to wave and make this all improve overnight. Moving scores above the 50% mark was going to take consistency and providing classroom teachers with the tools they needed.
But what were those tools? These were highly gifted and intelligent classroom teachers. What was missing?
Quickly, I became a writing consultant, motivational speaker, cheerleader, and counselor to the the teachers and students I served. All of those traits were rolled into one as I helped them to see light at the end of a dark tunnel. Truly, they didn’t think they could get their test scores up.
Along the way, I discovered the secret sauces for teaching writing and close reading comprehension. I applied those tactics, taught the classroom teachers how to do it consistently, and when the scores came back, we saw significant gains. One school went from 8% meeting standards the previous year to 96% passing the following year. No miracles. No magic wands. No gimmicks. Just the consistency of applying proven methodology that met the needs of each and every student.
When the ADAW ended, I continued to work on the ARMT (Alabama Reading and Math Test) and refined my methodology for text-dependent writing and close reading comprehension. Scores were great, and I set out to create Weekly Writer an online curriculum resource with all of my methodology in thirty-six weeks of lessons for each grade level. I stepped out the daily classroom and went virtual. For the most part at least. I was invited to speak at conferences across the country through Premiere Speakers Bureau. Lots of sky miles!
Schools across the country subscribed to our online platform, and they had success even though I wasn’t physically in the classroom with them. My modeling videos of the writing process became the favorite part of the platform for many schools. But, I was sitting in an office. Detached. Antsy.
For the next six years, I would teach theatre in two different systems for middle school and high school students. I loved that experience, but in the back of my mind, I felt like I had taken a side road, diverting myself from my true purpose. I had stopped writing books. The fifth Abbie Girl Spy novel sat on a shelf, unpublished. With the exception of a few plays I wrote for my high schools students, I wrote practically nothing. I was lost, deep in the woods on a path I wasn’t supposed to be on.
One day, I knew enough was enough. It was time to get back on the right path. I resigned from teaching theatre and started writing. I pulled out a musical called Runaway Home that I co-wrote with award winning song writer, Judy Rodman. Today, we are prepping for an industry reading in New York City this fall, preparing to put the show on a pre-Broadway track. The universe lined up the stars - literally. The cast that signed on for the reading includes Tony, Grammy, Emmy winners and an Academy Award nominee. I’ve been refining The Alchemist’s Secret the fifth novel in the Abbie Girl Spy series and preparing it for publication in 2024, which is the 25th anniversary year of the first book in the series being published. I’ve been preparing new text-dependent writing lessons and videos for elementary and middle school students who will need those for state testing. And…
I’m ready to hit the road…again.
With a focus of Literacy Alive!, I am ready for conferences, keynote speeches, professional development workshops, student workshops - you name it. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and jump back into the trenches to make a difference. I want every classroom teacher to have the skills and confidence for teaching writing at the highest possible level. I want to see a revolution in reading - students gobbling up books, fiction and non-fiction. Close reading comprehension at the highest level possible. Literacy Alive means excitement about literacy across all content areas.
That’s my story. That’s the path I’m on. It’s my purpose.
What’s yours? Where do you want to be at the end of the school year? Reach out and let’s start a conversation. I would love to help.
Darren Butler can be reached at darren@darrenjbutler.com
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