Facilitated by Nancy Rogers, who has taught for eight years at Thomas County Central High School and five years at Thomas County Middle School, the writing workshop offers individualized assistance for students daily, and special focus workshops are scheduled to coincide with special activities or assignments.
The special workshops will focus on various types of writing, including argumentative and persuasive essays, informational essays, and research papers. These workshops provide support for the National History Day and science fair competitions at both TCMS and TCCHS. Other special focus workshops will be added during the school year.
MERIT Program Director Dr. Dale Graham explained that the sessions are open to all MERIT students as needed.
“Nancy Rogers is uniquely qualified to help students transition from MERIT at the middle school to high school MERIT,” Graham said. “Her passion for education draws students to her; the relationships she has built make her highly accessible by both current and former students.”
Rogers explained, “The MERIT writing workshop is a magnificent opportunity to help our students succeed in rigorous courses while cultivating their writing skills.”
Workshop sessions are held 3:00-4:00 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays in Rogers’ classroom at TCMS and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the MERIT office at TCCHS.
Students do not have to sign up for the writing workshop in advance. They may go directly to the MERIT office located in E Hall at TCCHS or Rogers’ classroom (802) at TCMS. Students are encouraged to correspond with Rogers via email if they have questions before attending the workshop. Students and teachers are encouraged to share ideas for these special focus workshops with Rogers at narogers@tcjackets.net.
“As an English teacher I know the value of individualized writing instruction; I also know that it is often difficult to have enough classroom time to address the concerns of each student. Having a writing workshop will allow me to extend classroom lessons and truly provide one-to-one assistance with those students who take advantage of the program,” Rogers added.