Chappaqua middle-schoolers walk board through step-by-step writing process
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Summary
Sixth- and eighth-graders from Bell Middle School and 7 Bridges demonstrated the district—s scaffolded writing curriculum — from generating ideas to publishing — and showed how feedback (including a school AI tool) is used in revision. Board members praised students and teachers.
At a November board meeting of the Chappaqua Central School District, sixth- and eighth-grade students from Bell Middle School and 7 Bridges led a live demonstration of the district—s writing curriculum and teaching sequence.
Dr. Stewart and Mr. Curtis opened the presentation by saying the middle-school writing program is "step by step through a clear and intentional writing process" that aligns with district strategic priorities on rigor and belonging. Teachers then walked the board through the instructional stages the district uses: generating ideas, developing claims with evidence, drafting, revising, editing and publishing.
Students gave concrete examples. One presenter explained, "A claim is a response to questions that can be supported by... the group after a school we're talking about," and demonstrated how classmates select textual evidence and pair it with reasoning. Sid, an eighth-grader, described using a school AI tool during revision: "One tool was a school AI space... it provided us with feedback on a body paragraph," and said students decide which suggestions to accept.
Teachers showed samples of student work and distributed packets so board members could follow along. Board members responded with praise. President Wong said the presentation was "really, really good" and asked for a copy of the reading tracker to use with an adult book club; another member said watching the process "brought me back to the day when I was a writing teacher in the classroom."
The presentation emphasized that writing instruction is integrated across subjects (ELA, science, social studies and math) and that vertical alignment helps students move from structured skill-building in sixth grade to more sophisticated analysis in eighth grade. Students said the process helped them capture ideas while reading and build evidence-based essays.
The board did not take formal action on curriculum materials at the meeting; the presentation concluded with the administration thanking families and teachers for participating.