Program Design

The View from a Rural Site

Author: Anne Dobie Summary: Site leaders working in rural areas, especially for the first time, will want to read this piece that frames what it means to be a rural teacher, including some of the challenges teachers face in this context and implications for writing project institutes. Visiting and living...

“I’m a Writer”: Essays on the Writing Marathon and Why We Write

Author: Richard Louth Summary: This brief piece describes a book that puts writing—both teachers’ and students’—at the center. The first part focuses on writing marathon how-tos and offers guidelines, planning and facilitation resources, and teachers’ anecdotal experiences of writing in community. The second part of the book includes essays by...

The Concept of a Writing Center

Author: Muriel Harris Summary: Interested in establishing a writing center at your institution? This resource describes all aspects of running a writing center and reviews the many issues to be considered by anyone seeking to establish one, from developing program goals to funding to staffing and staff training. Useful as...

Workshop and Open Institute Marketing and Recruitment

Summary: Are you looking for creative ideas for advertising your Saturday seminar series, one-day workshop, or open institutes? If so, this collection of flyers from sites might provide you with exactly what you need or inspire you to create something of your own. Looking over these flyers with colleagues as...

School-Based Study Groups Build Community

Summary: Teacher leaders involved in planning and/or facilitating teacher study groups will find a useful resource in this brief article describing how the NWP in Vermont developed and launched a long-term school-based teacher study group with several districts. The leaders of the program found the “open-endedness of the study group...

Basics of Place-Conscious Education: The Nebraska Experience

Author: Robert Brooke Summary: This episode of the 4-part audio series on place-conscious education produced by the Nebraska Writing Project introduces the basic concepts of place-conscious education and frames the series of examples that are featured in the remaining episodes.

Writing, Place, and Culture: Indian Education for All

Author: Paul Epstein Summary: This article illustrates how two Writing Project sites In Maine and Montana explore how to help teachers address state laws regarding Indian education and improve the writing of Native American learners. It includes specific ideas for teacher leaders to increase their understanding of Native American culture...

Strengthen Your Work with New Teachers

Summary: Teacher leaders developing or jumping into an existing program for early career educators will find this brief overview from NWP’s New Teacher Initiative useful. Included in the overview is an annotated bibliography of key readings you will want to consider using with your new teachers. The readings are conveniently organized into...

Writing Projects and School Reform: A Local Perspective

Author: Marcie Wolfe Summary: How can teachers’ voices be heard within the top-down forces of reform, and how can NWP avoid becoming a “recipe-based” school reform model? This article tells the story of New York City writing project leaders who supported teachers and administrators within a city initiative to phase...

Content Literacy Leadership: A Lane Change for Writing Projects

Authors: Bruce M. Penniman, Leslie Skantz-Hodgson, Jane Baer-Leighton, Maria José Botelho, Richard Cairn, Karen Miele, Lawrence O’Brien, Momodou Sarr, Laura St. Pierre, Chris Tolpa, Susan Connell Biggs, Karen Diaz, Kevin Hodgson, Hollington Lee, Karen Pleasant, Christopher Rea, Lisa Rice Summary: Written as part of the Building New Pathways to Leadership...