LZHS hired a new Literacy Center Supervisor this year to help transform the Writing Center into a different kind of resource for students and teachers.
Christopher Holland, literacy center supervisor, previously lived and worked in Long Island, New York as a substitute teacher. He plans to transform the old writing center into a literacy center, which is a better resource for students, according to Holland.
“I’m able to create something new because prior to my arrival this was strictly a writing center, and now it will also be a literacy center, which encompasses so much more than writing alone,” Holland said. “It encompasses writing, reading, fluency, and comprehension.”
The student body’s eagerness to learn will play a part in the new vision of the literacy center.
“They are definitely more respectful than what I’m used to,” Holland said. “The students are very interested in doing well and using the variety of resources available to them. They seem to really care about their education and where their education will lead them.”
To help students learn the different aspects of the literacy center, Holland plans on giving a presentation to students.
“Starting [this] week I’m going to have students come down and introduce them to the literacy center, because given that it is something that is new, I think students and teachers don’t really have an idea of what it is and what it can be,” Holland said.
Holland got into the educational field because of his love for history and working with students.
“I got a degree in history and got licensed as a social studies teacher in New York. I really enjoyed my time student teaching, substitute teaching, and being in schools,” Holland said. “I got my master’s degree in literacy because I can’t think of anything more important than reading and writing. Those skills alone are integral to every subject area.”
Holland, who moved from New York to the Chicagoland area less than two months ago, misses a lot about his home.
“I definitely miss the pizza. I prefer the New York pizza,” Holland said. “I miss my family [because] my whole family’s in New York and I don’t have any family around here. I’m more comfortable there than I am here, but that will change over time…it’s a big change for me but I can tell [LZHS] is a great place to work.”