Samples of Student Work: Writing Showcase Portfolios

The idea of writing showcase portfolios for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade began three years ago. The main idea was for an individual portfolio to be kept for every student during their time at Colegio Maya in order to be able to demonstrate the students’ growth and improvement in writing over time. Since many of the students study at Maya for an average of 3-5 years, the portfolio would accompany them on to their next school as part of their file. Students, at grade levels where appropriate, select which pieces of writing they would like to include in the showcase portfolio. During the first year of implementation, 1-2 pieces of writing were included in the portfolios, while in the second year 2-3 pieces were included. For the 2004-2005 school year, teachers are being asked to have students select 4 pieces to include in their portfolios.