BERKELEY — WriterCoach Connection, which helps East Bay middle and high school students hone their writing skills, is seeking volunteers.

The program, which has operated for 16 years, is involved at 12 schools in the East Bay, according to June Pangelinan, site coordinator at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley. Six of the participating schools are in the West Contra Costa Unified School District; four in the Berkeley Unified School District; one in the Albany Unified School District; and one in the Oakland Unified School District.

Under the program, teams of trained volunteers provide one-on-one coaching to students in connection with classroom assignments, as part of helping them develop ideas and strengthen their writing skills. The volunteers are asked to commit to two hours during the school day, two to four times a month.

“We need community members who are willing to meet students where they are which means that they have the ability to be present with their students with no judgment,” Pangelinan said.

Qualities and abilities sought in volunteers include: “listener; curious; committed; patient; kind; caring; eager; generous; calm; agreeable; comfort with reading and writing; asks questions; smart; community minded; supporter of public schools; flexible,” she added.

To become a coach, volunteers must attend an orientation session and complete a three-hour training workshop. The next session is at 9:30 a.m. July 28 in Berkeley.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.writercoachconnection.org/volunteer-orientation.html.