A Guide to Creating Student-Staffed Writing Centers, Grades 6–12, Revised Edition is a how-to and, ultimately, a why-to book for middle school and high school educators as well as for English/language arts teacher candidates and their methods instructors. This revised and updated International Writing Centers Association 2006 Book of the Year shows writing centers as places where writers work with each other in an effort to develop ideas, discover a thesis, overcome procrastination, create an outline, or revise a draft. Ultimately, writing centers help students become more effective writers. Visit any college or university in the United States and chances are there is a writing center available to students, staff, and community members. Writing centers support students and busy teachers while emphasizing and supporting writing across the curriculum.

“«A Guide to Creating Student-Staffed Writing Centers: Grades 6–12, Revised Edition» is meant to invite, instruct, prepare, and inspire teachers to develop writing centers in today’s secondary schools, and it does these essential tasks with a winning combination of hands-on experience, contemporary scholarship, and professional chutzpah. Richard Kent knows what he is talking about from years of teaching writing, from starting and directing his own high school writing center, and from his broad-ranging and thorough research into writing instruction and writing centers. The background information, the practical advice and good models, the rationales and arguments, and the welcoming tone all make for a compelling book. He distills both his knowledge and experience about creating student-staffed writing centers into a highly readable, comprehensive, yet slender volume that systematically provides teachers with everything they need to get started on their school’s own writing center.”—Harvey Kail, Professor of English, former Writing Center Director, University of Maine; Recipient, International Writing Center Association’s Maxwell Leadership Award
“When I was first starting a high school writing center, Richard Kent’s book proved indispensable. Now, I collaborate with Florida high schools to support them as they start their own writing centers. I am not sure how Kent could have made an even more valuable edition, but he did. A must-read.”—Jennifer Wells, Director of Writing, New College of Florida; co-editor, «The Successful High School Writing Center» (2011)
“This revised edition of «A Guide to Creating Student-Staffed Writing Centers: Grades 6–12» offers readers insight into the rapid growth of secondary school writing centers over the past decade and snapshots of writing centers that serve as models across the United States. This is a must-read for those interested in starting writing centers in their schools…”—Dawn Fels, co-editor, «The Successful High School Writing Center» (2011)

Richard Kent, Ph.D., is Professor of Literacy and Director Emeritus of the Maine Writing Project at the University of Maine. A former secondary school writing center director and English teacher, Kent is the author of many books, including Writing on the Bus and Teaching the Neglected ‘R’. He was Maine Teacher of the Year in 1993 and a National Educator Award recipient in 1994.