Pewaukee Lake Elementary highlights new writing progression to boost early-literacy engagement

Pewaukee Lake Elementary teachers and instructional coaches presented a new writing-progression and accompanying coaching supports to the Pewaukee School District Board on May 19, saying the work is raising early-literacy engagement and helping students move from scribbles to multi‑page books.

School leaders said the progression grew from a week-long consultation with writing specialist Matt Glover and follow-up teacher collaboration. Carrie Rodolfi, an instructional coach, said the team emphasized three threads—interest and choice, differentiated instruction ("nudge versus push") and frequency of writing—to help teachers design daily, developmentally appropriate writing experiences. Rodolfi said, “We write every day and we write often.”

Principal Brian Siegel framed the work as part of a broader district effort to find alternate paths to achievement for students who need different entry points to standards. Special-education teachers worked with regular educators to ensure the progression covers emergent writers; special-education teacher Katie Krupinski quoted Glover’s idea that “writing should provide children with an invitation, not an expectation” and said the team built six critical skills—intentionality, revision, thinking ahead, craft, stamina and problem solving—into the progression.

Teachers described four developmental stages from scribbling to sentence writing and showed classroom examples where students who previously refused to write began producing labeled drawings and multi‑page stories. First-grade teacher Renee Gallagher described one student who moved from frustration to authoring a multi‑page book about golf carts, including intentional labels and a self-evaluation. Erin Meisel said the progression also accounts for fine-motor and art standards so nontraditional tools (Play‑Doh, toys, oral storying) can demonstrate students’ authorship.

Board members asked about scaling and alignment. Staff said regular-ed and special-ed teachers are already using the new progression in grade-level PLCs and plan to extend the work to additional elementary sites next year, aiming to align transition points as cohorts move through the district.

The presentation included videos and work samples from the start of the year to spring; staff said the next steps are continued revision, cross-building collaboration and using the progression to identify targeted "nudges" that move students forward within their developmental levels.

District leaders thanked the PLE team and instructional coaches for the work and said they view the progression as a tool to increase both student and teacher engagement in writing going forward.