In the News

The Teaching and Assessment of Student Writing (February 7, 2012)

Bridge Magazine
Writing Project teacher leaders discuss best strategies for teaching student writing, as a learning tool and a valued skill, and for assessing student writing achievement. More ›

Live Oak Writing Project to Host Writing and Science Workshop for Teachers (February 1, 2012)

Southern Miss Now
Live Oak Writing Project at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast will host the workshop "Connecting Writing to the Common Core State Standards in the Science Classroom" on Tuesday, February 7. More ›

Celebrate Digital Learning Day (February 1, 2012)

Gamestar Mechanic Teacher Blog
On Digital Learning Day, February 1, 2012, thousands of teachers and millions of students will pledge to use technology in new, innovative ways in their classrooms. More ›

Writing Project Director Explores Non-Traditional Literature (February 1, 2012)

Newswise
Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm, founding director of the Maine Writing Project and the Boise State Writing Project, shares insights from a current study about how passionate adolescent readers of non-traditional texts engage with such texts. He also examines the implications for parenting, instruction, reading programs, and libraries. More ›

Ozark Writing Project Teacher Brings Pearl Harbor Stories to Life for Students (January 22, 2012)

News-Leader
In the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, media and veterans groups sought out World War II participants to preserve their stories for future generations. Through the work of an Ozark Writing Project teacher and her seventh-grade students, this process is already beginning. More ›

NWP at Rutgers University Teachers Address Common Core Literacy Standards (January 22, 2012)

NJ.com
Although students were not in session on Jan. 16 to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Warren Hills teachers were in session for a full day of professional development activities. Teacher-consultants from the National Writing Project at Rutgers University worked with school staff to address the Common Core Literacy Standards in all subjects. More ›

Writing Project Teachers Develop Professional Learning Model (January 20, 2012)

Education News Colorado
Writing Project teacher-leaders from several states gathered for the winter meeting of the National Writing Project's Literacy Design Collaborative, a professional learning initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. More ›

Writing Project Teacher Receives Arkansas Teacher of the Year Award (January 18, 2012)

The Cabin
Debbie West, teacher-consultant and technology liaison of the Arkansas Delta Writing Project, has been named elementary school teacher of the year by the Arkansas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. West, who was recognized for innovation and professionalism in teaching, also leads teacher study groups and professional development in her district. More ›

Students Need An Audience If We Expect Them To Learn How To Write (January 18, 2012)

Business Insider
Jacob Lewis, co-founder and CEO of Figment, discusses how writing to an audience is necessary to develop real-world writing skills. More ›

Writing and Teaching Habits of Mind (January 18, 2012)

Inside Higher Ed
Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing, developed by the Council of Writing Program Administrators, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the National Writing Project, posits eight "habits of mind and experiences that are critical for college success": curiosity, openness, engagement, creativity, persistence, responsibility, flexibility, and metacognition. Do writing teachers need to assess their own "habits of mind?" More ›

Students Get Real-World Experience (December 21, 2011)

Branson Tri-Lakes News
Sixth grade students at Branson Intermediate School, inspired by teacher-consultants from the Ozarks Writing Project, gained real-world experience by writing and implementing their own business plans to raise money for a spring literature conference. More ›

Writing Project Helps Students and Teachers Find Their Inner Authors (December 21, 2011)

The University of Texas at Austin
Through the Heart of Texas Writing Project, Dr. Randy Bomer helps teachers and young writers alike find their inner authors. Concluding that a teacher who writes will be a better writing teacher, the project offers monthly workshops and four-week invitational institutes to K-12 Texas teachers. In the workshops, the teachers learn best practices in writing instruction, review research, build a strong network of like-minded colleagues and, most important, produce writing of their own. More ›

Writing Project Strategies Help Little Writers with Big Futures (December 19, 2011)

The Orange County Register
In second-grade teacher Angie Bailus' classroom, teaching strategies from the UC Irvine Writing Project help young students improve their writing skills. More ›

Ozarks Writing Project Teacher Named Secondary Teacher of the Year (December 19, 2011)

News-Leader
Kim Blevins, a language arts teacher associated with the Ozarks Writing Project at Missouri State University, has been named secondary teacher of the year by the Missouri State Teachers Association. More ›

Why Students Need to Think of Themselves as Writers (November 22, 2011)

The Guardian
Ph.D candidate Liana Silva had a revelation while following the #whyiwrite tweets on the National Day on Writing. No one wrote, "I write because I am a writer." She posits that everyone, particularly academics, needs to think of themselves as writers. More ›

West Tennessee Writing Project Hosts Young Writers' Clubhouse (November 15, 2011)

The Pacer
The Young Writers' Clubhouse had its first session at the University of Tennessee at Martin. The program is designed to get more students in the area excited about writing and to improve their writing skills. More ›

Poetry Jam at Kean University National Writing Project (November 15, 2011)

The Cougar's Byte
As part of the Kean University National Writing Project, talents from all over the university gathered at the Kean University Center in order to share their unique interests with others. More ›

Indiana Teacher-Consultant on the Merits of Kurt Vonnegut (November 15, 2011)

Indianapolis Star
David Lawson, a teacher-consultant at the Hoosier Writing Project, shares his thoughts about author Kurt Vonnegut and how he teaches about Vonnegut's works in the classroom. More ›

Macarena Hernandez Presents at South Texas Writing Project Fall Conference (November 8, 2011)

The Bridge
Journalist and educator Macarena Hernandez spoke about her personal experiences as a Mexican American growing up and teaching in the Texas school system at the South Texas Writing Project Fall Conference. More ›

Flash Mob of Student Writers on National Writing Day (November 3, 2011)

Tracy Press
On October 20, a "flash mob" of student writers at Bethany School in Mountain House, CA, poured out their thoughts to celebrate National Writing Day. More ›

National Day on Writing Sparks Creativity at New Jersey High School (October 27, 2011)

NJ Today
Kean University Writing Project's Kim Kiefer organized a Day on Writing Celebration to celebrate the National Day on Writing. New Jersey's Rahway High School classes engaged in creative writing assignments in a number of different content areas. More ›

Exploring Digital Writing at the Philadelphia Writing Project (October 27, 2011)

The Notebook
Christina Cantrill, a staff member of the National Writing Project and a member of the Philadelphia Writing Project, writes about digital writing and how it is integrated into the curriculum of Philadelphia teachers. More ›

Common Core State Standards Accelerates Interest in Online Professional Development (October 25, 2011)

Education Week
The adoption of common core state standards in most states has increased interest in online professional development to guide teachers through the transition. More ›

Students in Georgia Write for National Writing Day (October 25, 2011)

The George-Anne
Students got to express themselves through writing when the department of writing and linguistics and the Georgia Southern National Writing Project hosted Pizza-for-Prose on Thursday, October 20. More ›

Celebrating Writing With Why I Write (October 25, 2011)

MindShift
The U.S. Senate has proclaimed October 20 the third annual National Day on Writing, an event originally created by the National Council of Teachers of English to promote the importance of writing to all of us in our everyday lives. More ›

Students Send Thank You Letters to Soldiers at Great Valley Writing Project (October 25, 2011)

The Modesto Bee
Kindergarten teacher Maria Tillery at the Great Valley Writing Project collected names of active soldiers for her students to write letters to, and is hoping the letters and artwork make it to the soldiers in time for Veterans Day. More ›

California High Schools Prepare for More Rigorous State Standards (October 25, 2011)

Mercury News
English teachers from Pajaro Valley, Watsonville, and Aptos high schools, preparing to teach new and more rigorous state standards for reading and writing, are getting help from the UC Santa Cruz Central California Writing Project and other UCSC programs. More ›

Today Is National Day on Writing (October 20, 2011)

GalleyCat
To celebrate the National Day on Writing, the National Writing Project is hosting the "Why I Write" project with Figment.com and The New York Times Learning Network. More ›

Celebrating the National Day on Writing with #whyiwrite (October 20, 2011)

The News-Gazette
To commemorate the National Day On Writing, October 20, the New York Times Learning Network, Figment, and the National Writing Project are asking people on Twitter to identify their reasons for writing using the #whyiwrite hashtag. More ›

San Antonio Writing Project Tackles Bullying (October 13, 2011)

UTSA Today
The San Antonio Writing Project will host "Writing the Future of Bullying: It Really Can Get Better," the second seminar in its 2011-2012 professional development series. It will explore the issues involved in bullying and provide teachers with strategies that help students become allies for their classmates. More ›

Connecticut Writing Project Conference Brings Students and Teachers Together (October 11, 2011)

The Daily Campus
UConn's fourth Annual Conference for Secondary School Writing Centers brought together more than 150 students and teachers from middle and high school all over Connecticut. This conference allowed students and teachers to understand how to successfully implement writing centers at their schools. More ›

Philadelphia Teacher Profiled by Times for Popular Twitter Chat: #engchat (September 30, 2011)

The New York Times
Teachers are turning to Twitter to collaborate, share resources, and offer each other support. Many, in fact, are using it to take professional development into their own hands, 140 characters at a time. Meenoo Rami, a teacher-consultant with the Philadelphia Writing Project, leads a popular Twitter chat called #engchat and was profiled in The New York Times Learning Network. More ›

New Teacher-Grant Program Could Herald Federal Shift (September 29, 2011)

Education Week
Several high-profile teacher-training and professional-development groups that recently lost federal set-asides, including the National Writing Project, will have an opportunity to recapture some of that funding under the terms of a newly unveiled $25 million federal competition. More ›

Philadelphia Writing Project Celebrates 25 Years as a Powerful Teacher Network (September 29, 2011)

The Notebook
For its 25th anniversary, the Philadelphia Writing Projecting is commemorating its impact on literacy and writing as a critical tool for learning in all Philadelphia schools. More ›

Young Writers Share "Life Link" Prose for Purchase Area Writing Project's Anthology (September 29, 2011)

Murray Ledger & Times
More than four-hundred young authors responded to the invitation of the Purchase Area Writing Project (PAWP) to write about a Life Link," the theme chosen for the third edition of PAWP's annual anthology. Many of the young writers explored the theme in simple homespun ways, though some ventured into global concerns such as the tragedy in Haiti and environmental awareness. More ›

Western Kentucky University Writing Project Takes Part in the Common Core Initiative (September 27, 2011)

Bowling Green Daily News
The Western Kentucky University Writing Project is taking part in the Common Core Initiative, which helps develop and test lesson plans to meet the literacy goal of the new common core standards Kentucky adopted last year. More ›

San Antonio Writing Project Delves into Digital Writing (September 27, 2011)

UTSA Today
The San Antonio Writing Project hosted a seminar "Digital Writing: Byte Write Into It" as part of its professional development series. The seminar provided educators ways to teach writing using technology. More ›

Merced Writing Project Prepares Students to Think Beyond "Yes" or "No" Answers (September 23, 2011)

The Sacramento Bee
The UC Merced Writing Project seeks to take student writing to a whole new level by helping teachers master advanced techniques to get students thinking more analytically about the subjects they are studying. More ›

Educators Wage Battle for Students' Attention (September 23, 2011)

MediaShift
Greg Graham, a teacher-consultant with the Little Rock Writing Project, draws attention to the rising concern of easily distracted students and advises educators on finding ways to help them concentrate on important matters in the classroom. More ›

America's Best Teachers in 2011 (September 13, 2011)

Spirit Magazine
NWP teachers Curtis Chandler and Floris Wilma Ortiz, who both received awards as teacher of the year from their respective states, were profiled by Spirit magazine. More ›

Dr. Sharon J. Washington on Writing and International Literacy Day (September 8, 2011)

The Ohio State University Alumni Association
NWP Executive Director Dr. Sharon J. Washington was interviewed by The Ohio State University Alumni Association to get her insights on writing and literacy on International Literacy Day. More ›

Baton Rouge Teachers Hone Skills at Local Writing Project (September 6, 2011)

Baton Rouge Today
Teachers at the Louisiana State University Writing Project collaborate on learning strategies during this year's summer institute. More ›

Educators Left To Measure Writing As Illinois Drops Essays From Tests (September 6, 2011)

Rockford Register Star
Illinois has decided to drop the writing component of the Prairie State Achievement Exam in order to save money, leaving teachers responsible for stressing the importance of writing. More ›

A Primer On Curriculum Sharing Sites (September 2, 2011)

Edutopia
Edutopia research analyst Vanessa Vega shares websites that produce and share free curriculum materials, including NWP's Digital Is. More ›

Is Summer Really A Vacation? (September 1, 2011)

With summer reading lists, elaborate projects, and math sets to complete, kids (and parents) are cramming to get it all done before school starts. Is this an healthy approach? Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, director of National Programs and Site Development at the NWP, is quoted. More ›

With Pictures, Puzzles and Games, Students Create Transmedia Stories (September 1, 2011)

MindShift
Students create stories simultaneously through text, images, spoken word, music, video, and animation. NWP's Digital Is website is listed as a resource for digital composing tools. More ›

WriterCoaches Give Guidance, Gain Understanding (August 25, 2011)

El Cerrito Patch
One of the issues in teaching writing that came up at a Writing Project training in El Cerrito, CA, is how difficult it is to provide all students with one-on-one guidance. That discussion led to the WriterCoach Connection program. More ›

Third Coast Writing Project Workshop Helps Educators Teach Social Justice (August 12, 2011)

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Gazette
The Third Coast Writing Project received funding from the Memorial Library to create the Holocaust Educator Network of Michigan, a series of summer seminars focused on Holocaust education and social justice education. More ›

Connecticut Writing Project Jump Starts Teacher's First Novel (August 11, 2011)

Current Publishing
Nick Chanese, author of the new young adult novel The Smile, discusses how participating in the summer institute at the Connecticut Writing Project at Central Connecticut State University inspired him to write a novel. More ›

Delta Area Writing Project Makes an Impact on Literacy (August 11, 2011)

The Cleveland Current
The Delta Area Writing Project is working to improve national literacy through their innovative summer institutes for teachers and summer writing camps for students. More ›

Pennsylvania Writing Project Inspires Student Poet (August 11, 2011)

Marple Newtown Patch
Middle school student Joanna Damiani discusses her involvement with the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project and how it inspired her love for writing and poetry. More ›

Will Emphasis on Writing in Illinois Continue? (August 11, 2011)

Quincy Herald Whig
Illinois school officials believe schools' emphasis on writing will not be changed following writing exam elimination, but Chicago educators, such as Barbara Kato, fear writing instruction will become less of a priority without the incentive of state tests. More ›

Boise State Writing Project Launches K-12 Service-Learning Initiatives (August 11, 2011)

Boise State University Update
Boise State's thriving Service-Learning Program integrates academics and service for college students. Now, through work with the Boise State Writing Project, 39 Idaho teachers will carry the proven benefits of combining service with learning into their K-12 classrooms this fall. More ›

Legacy of Literacy Makes Kentucky Teacher a Hometown Hero (July 29, 2011)

WBKO
More than 500 teachers from 38 Kentucky counties have attend the summer workshops taught by Dr. John Hagaman, founder of the Western Kentucky University Writing Project. These teachers in turn have gone back to their schools feeling empowered with the ability to spread literacy. More ›

Teachers Reap Training Riches at Bay Area Writing Project (July 25, 2011)

El Cerrito Patch
Although many experts cite the skills of the classroom teacher as the most significant factor in the quality of a child's education, teacher training is feeling the economic pinch. Bay Area teachers have one ace up their sleeve, though, in having UC Berkeley in the neighborhood. More ›

Writing Creatively Leads to Growth in Brain Power (July 23, 2011)

Cleveland.com
At a time when scientists are finding that Internet use literally rewires our brains toward more "distracted thinking and superficial learning," as a 2010 Wired article put it, writing preserves and improves concentration skills, and the importance of that cannot be overstated. More ›

Illinois Needs to Restore Writing Exam (July 14, 2011)

The Chicago Tribune
Educators, including Barbara Kato, director of the Chicago Area Writing Project, argue that Illinois should restore its last remaining writing test to ensure that student's writing skills remain a priority. More ›

Kids Develop Creativity at Bay Area Writing Project's Young Writers Camp (July 11, 2011)

Larkspur-CorteMadera Patch
This summer marks the 15th year of the Bay Area Writing Project's Young Writers Camp. The camp offers children a wonderful opportunity to develop their creativity and writing talents, and to make new friends along the way. More ›

South African Teachers Learn about Teaching Writing (July 10, 2011)

The Modesto Bee
Two South African teachers are spending the summer with California's Great Valley Writing Project to learn new techniques to teach writing and then bring those lessons back to South Africa as part of a plan to start a similar program there. More ›

Future Funding Uncertain for Illinois Writing Project (July 8, 2011)

The News-Gazette
The University of Illinois Writing Project Summer Institute is in its fourth year, but with recent cuts to federal funding, its future is uncertain. More ›

Central Utah Writing Project Helps Teachers Work with Words (July 7, 2011)

Daily Herald
The Central Utah Writing Project's summer institute provides teachers a collaborative environment where they can fill their teacher toolboxes with ideas to develop more engaging classrooms for their students. More ›

Illinois Erases State's Last Writing Exam (July 7, 2011)

The Chicago Tribune
As Illinois eliminates its last state writing exam under the pressure of budget shortfalls, educators worry that teaching writing will become less of a priority in Illinois classrooms. More ›

Teachers Aren't the Only Ones Benefiting from Writing Project (July 6, 2011)

University of Rochester
Although teachers are the participants in the Genesee Valley Writing Project's Invitational Summer Institute, their students benefit from the innovative professional development as well. More ›

Students Get Writing Lessons Over Summer Break (June 29, 2011)

While their friends are at the beach or at home watching television, some California students are spending their summers at a National Writing Project camp, writing poems, letters, and stories. More ›

Summer Fruit Chronicled by Young Writers (June 29, 2011)

The Kingsburg Recorder
The secret lives of apricots, nectarines, and cherries were explored by a group of up-and-coming young California writers. The students, representing kindergarten through seventh grade, participated in a summer writing camp developed by the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project. More ›

If It Works So Well, Why Did We Cut It? (June 1, 2011)

Standard-Examiner
The summer institute at the Wasatch Range Writing Project helps teachers see themselves as writers, more capable of helping their students acquire writing skills. More ›

Enthusiasm For Writing Boosts Scores in Florida School (June 1, 2011)

St. Petersburg Times
Using the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project as a key resource, Sunray Elementary principal LeAnne Yerkey got all of her school's teachers to learn several winning ways to get kids writing well. More ›

Michigan Writing Projects Hurt By National Cuts (May 26, 2011)

The Mining Journal
Writing projects across the nation, including the Upper Peninsula Writing Project in Michigan, have been de-funded bceause of recent federal budget cuts. More ›

Mythology and Drumming Build Literacy for Ohio Students (May 25, 2011)

Akron Beacon Journal
The National Writing Project at Kent State University collaborated with Alchemy, a group that started as 28 sixth-grade boys, to develop a program to improve literacy, writing performance, and student achievement. Now 26 of those 28 boys are headed to college. More ›

What Standardized Tests Miss (May 25, 2011)

Mother Jones
Robert Roth, a teacher-consultant with the Bay Area Writing Project, looks for creative ways to teach high school history in the face of increasing pressure to teach to standardized tests. More ›

West Virginia Program In Jeopardy (May 19, 2011)

Logan Banner
Because of the recent elimination of direct funding for NWP, Coalfield Writers, a local rural satellite of the Marshall University Writing Project, will likely stop producing the youth programs that has been its hallmark since the early 1990s. More ›

NWP Teacher Honored for Educational Excellence (May 18, 2011)

The Post-Crescent
Ellen Kort, a teacher-consultant with the Fox Valley Writing Project and Wisconsin's first poet laureate, was honored for her contributions to educational excellence in the Fox Cities community. More ›

Cutting Funds for NWP (May 17, 2011)

Washington Examiner
Erica Jacobs, a teacher at George Mason University, questions the government's choice to cut funding for the NWP in order to eliminate earmarks. More ›

Teen Goes to D.C. to Discuss ELL Challenges (May 16, 2011)

Stockton Record
Kenya Hernandez, a 15-year-old student of NWP teacher Brandy De Alba, traveled to the nation's capital to speak her mind to U.S. policymakers about why it's important to support educating English language learners. More ›

Montana Students Learn About Their Crow Connections (May 4, 2011)

Billings Gazette
English teacher Casey Olsen of the Montana Writing Project organized a field trip and writing marathon titled "Influence of the Crow Tribe in Stillwater County." The work is connected to Montana's Indian Education for All. More ›

NWP's Sharon J. Washington Discusses Budget Cuts on C-SPAN (April 30, 2011)

C-SPAN
NWP's Executive Director Sharon J. Washington appeared on C-SPAN to talk about the 2011 budget cuts to education programs like the NWP and what the cuts could mean for the overall education of our youth. More ›

National Writing Project Is Innocent Victim in War on Earmarks (April 24, 2011)

The Chronicle Of Higher Education
The loss of federal funds for NWP could damage the quality of students' writing on college cam­puses and in elementary and secondary schools, say faculty members who are now urging lawmakers to reconsider. The cut comes amid growing concerns about the state of students' writing. More ›

Congress, Can You Spare a Dime? A Teacher Makes the Case for the National Writing Project (April 21, 2011)

Edutopia
Judy Jester, a teacher-consultant with the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project, makes the case for the value of the National Writing Project in this article for Edutopia. More ›

West Virginia Director Describes How Writing Project Cut Hurts (April 16, 2011)

The Charleston Gazette
Paul Epstein, co-director of the Central West Virginia Writing Project, describes what the Writing Project has meant to him and his colleagues in the teaching profession. More ›

In Nebraska, Writing Tests Get An Incomplete (April 10, 2011)

Omaha World-Herald
Some experts, including a Writing Project director, say that mandating a basic test, which measures only one particular type of writing, has pushed districts to overemphasize that type of writing at the expense of the variety of instruction that produces great writers. More ›

Framework For Success Associated With Deep, Permanent Learning (April 7, 2011)

Inside Higher Ed
Developed collaboratively by the Council of Writing Program Administrators, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the National Writing Project, Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing offers "habits of mind" in writing, reading, and critical analysis, which can be cultivated by middle and high school teachers and serve students well once they enter college or the workplace. More ›

NWP Teachers Relaunch Writing with Digital Tools (April 7, 2011)

Education Week
Drawing on the experience of Writing Project teachers, an Education Week article makes a case for digital writing that promotes collaboration, enhances students' voice, and supports skill building. More ›

Loss of Federal Funding Affects NWP Sites In West Virginia (April 5, 2011)

The Charleston Gazette
The loss of funding at the National Writing Project could impact thousands of students across West Virginia and millions across the country. More ›

Can Reading Be Saved? (April 5, 2011)

Education Week
Kelly Gallagher, former co-director of the South Basin Writing Project and author of Readicide, discusses the state of student literacy today and what educators can do to help students become more fluent and engaged readers. More ›

Blogging As A Way Of Learning In Minnesota (March 28, 2011)

St. Paul Pioneer Press
Teachers across Minnesota, including those at the Minnesota Writing Project, are embracing blogs and other online forums for self-expression to help students grasp the power of words. More ›

Questioning Efficiency and Education (March 28, 2011)

Santa Cruz Sentinel
Don Rothman, former director of the Central California Writing Project, decries the factory model of education and suggests that students must grapple with complexity in order to learn. More ›

Cuts to NWP Affect West Virginia Teachers and Students (March 28, 2011)

WOWK-TV
The recent funding cut for NWP has a big impact on the Coalfield Writers program, a satellite of the Marshall University Writing Project in West Virginia. More ›

Digital Literacy Mortally Wounded in Budget Battle (March 28, 2011)

San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News reports that NWP's recent loss of funding will severely affect the teaching of digital literacy, which many Writing Project teachers emphasize to arm their students with "the writing skills that employers will demand." More ›

Digital Media, Children's Learning, and Schools (March 22, 2011)

EdTech Insight
How are digital media changing the way young people learn? Top experts, including NWP's Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, examined possibilities for student engagement and assessment at a conference hosted by Columbia University's Teachers College and the Hechinger Institute, Digital Media, Children's Learning, and Schools. More ›

U.S. Must Support Teachers' Learning to Regain Educational Standing in World (March 22, 2011)

Washington Post
The United States has been pursuing an approach to teaching almost diametrically opposed to that pursued by the highest-achieving nations, writes Linda Darling-Hammond. To fix that, the government should support professional development organizations for teachers, such as NWP. More ›

Cutting Some "Earmarks" Will Be Real Loss To Nation (March 19, 2011)

San Jose Mercury News
Before cutting all earmarks out of the federal budget, Congress would be wise to consider the extent to which they are throwing out meaningful education programs that operate on a national scale, such as NWP, but happen to fall under the category of earmarks. More ›

Budget Cuts Raise Questions About Federal Commitment to Literacy (March 18, 2011)

Education Week
The elimination of most federal aid for literacy programs, including the National Writing Project, is raising new questions about the future of the federal commitment to promoting literacy. More ›

New York City Writing Project Boosts Teacher Skills And Student Success (March 17, 2011)

Education Update
Through various projects such as Teachers Teaching Teachers and Youth Voices, the New York City Writing Project is successful in improving teacher skills. Students of teachers at this site consistently show significant gains in writing achievement. More ›

From STEM to STREAM: Writing as an Essential Component of Science Education (March 17, 2011)

Psychology Today
Writing, like any other art, teaches the entire range of "tools for thinking" that are required to be creative in any discipline. Hence, the National Writing Project's loss of funding also negatively affects STEM subjects. More ›

Congress Decides Literacy is a Bridge to Nowhere (March 15, 2011)

Huffington Post
Joseph Kahne, professor of education and scholar of digital media, says the decision by Congress to slash funding to literacy programs will be a costly one borne by this nation's children. More ›

Save the National Writing Project From the Federal Cutting Block (March 15, 2011)

Huffington Post
Famed journalism teacher Esther Wojcicki describes in clear and certain terms the situation facing NWP, as well as the decisions and responsibilities confronting the federal government. More ›

Dear President Obama: Save the National Writing Project (March 12, 2011)

Huffington Post
Teacher-consultant and noted blogger Heather Wolpert-Gawron states the case that the Writing Project makes a significant difference in the professional lives of thousands of teachers every year. More ›

Famed Writing Program On Federal Chopping Block (March 8, 2011)

California Watch
After decades of federal support, an acclaimed writing program that began at UC Berkeley 36 years ago, the National Writing Project, faces a difficult future due to budget cuts agreed to by Congress and the Obama administration. More ›

Budget Cuts Don't Add Up For Education (March 7, 2011)

The Minnesota Daily
The Minnesota Daily writes that federal budget cuts to education—including the elimination of funding for the National Writing Project—is a poor way to obtain insubstantial government savings that will cause drastic harm to already-struggling students. More ›

Texting Helps Kids Learn to Write (March 4, 2011)

Many parents fear that their children text too much, but texting has a good side, according to The Journal News. Students are writing more than ever, which helps them become better writers. More ›

Congress Cuts Funding for NWP, Other Education Programs (March 4, 2011)

More than a dozen education programs—including high-profile efforts focused on literacy, teaching, and learning such as the NWP—are looking at the prospect of a permanent federal funding loss after they were chopped from a stopgap spending measure signed into law by President Barack Obama. More ›

More Great 'Read-Alouds' From The New York Times (March 4, 2011)

March 9 is World Read Aloud Day, and The New York Times's Learning Network blog included an exercise learned from the National Writing Project. More ›

How To Support Reading Is Fundamental & National Writing Project (March 4, 2011)

GalleyCat, a publication of mediabistro.com, posted a statement by the NWP concerning a stopgap spending measure signed into law by President Barack Obama that cuts federal funding for NWP and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF). More ›

Business Schools Emphasize Writing Amid Employer Complaints (March 3, 2011)

Wall Street Journal
National Writing Project Executive Director Sharon J. Washington is quoted in this Wall Street Journal article about the steps business schools are taking to try and improve their students' writing. More ›

National Writing Project in Jeopardy (March 3, 2011)

Oakland Tribune
Oakland Tribune reporter Katy Murphy writes about how the NWP lost all of its federal funding for the upcoming year in a temporary spending bill President Barack Obama signed into law in an effort to avoid a federal government shutdown. More ›

"Irreproachable Suggestions" in Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing (March 3, 2011)

Washington Examiner columnist and seasoned teacher Erica Jacobs examines how Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing will make a difference in the way students write in this series of articles. More ›

Digital Media in the Classroom Case Study (March 2, 2011)

Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning
The MacArthur Foundation's Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning looks at the educational impact of Voices on the Gulf, a website supported by the National Writing Project that encourages teacher and student discussion about the aftermath of the largest oil spill in U.S. history. More ›

Georgia Teachers Gather to Learn from Each Other (March 2, 2011)

The Coastal Savannah Writing Project hosted a series of conferences for teachers to collaborate and trade ideas about how to teach writing effectively. More ›

Planning for Writing Instruction (February 16, 2011)

In this excerpt from Mark Overmeyer's When Writing Workshop Isn't Working, the author discusses the process of planning for an entire year of writing instruction. Overmeyer is a teacher-consultant with the Denver Writing Project. More ›

Tech Tools Used to Boost Literacy (February 9, 2011)

Jeffrey Wilhelm, director of the Boise State University Writing Project, and other teachers discuss how technology—such as webcams, audio recorders, blogs, and other Web 2.0 tools—can boost literacy in students. More ›

New Sites Added to NWP Network (January 28, 2011)

The National Writing Project announces the addition of new sites located in Florida and Wisconsin. More ›

Northern Nevada Teacher Wins Excellence in Education Award (January 28, 2011)

Regan Hartzell, a teacher-consultant with the Northern Nevada Writing Project, is the recipient of Reno, Nevada's News Four Excellence in Education Award. More ›

Greater Madison Writing Project Hits Ground Running (January 24, 2011)

The Cap Times
This in-depth story about the work of the Writing Project shows how a group of teachers and professors dedicated to improving student writing pulled together the resources needed to form the new Greater Madison Writing Project. More ›

Writing Project Teachers Explore Connection Between Writing and "Making" (January 18, 2011)

The Notebook
The National Writing Project and MAKE Magazine are partnering to pilot a project through which teachers and students explore the connections between writing and "making," creating more invigorating assignments along the way. More ›

Skype Connects Student Writers in Maine (January 18, 2011)

The Times Record
Students of Michele Aronson and Seth Mitchell, teacher-consultants with the Southern Maine Writing Project, use videoconferencing to widen the audience for their writing and receive more critical feedback. More ›

South Carolina Classrooms Improve Writing Through Poetry (January 7, 2011)

Aiken Standard
Teacher-consultants from the Aiken Writing Project invited two poets to conduct workshops at their school, getting both teachers and students excited about writing. More ›

Education Resolutions for 2011 Include National Writing Project (January 5, 2011)

Washington Post
Education professor Mike Rose, author of Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us, lists his hopes for education in the new year, including an endorsement of the National Writing Project. More ›

Language Arts Teachers Face Modern Challenges (January 4, 2011)

CNN.com
English teachers find themselves more accountable than ever for the academic success of their students, while balancing new technologies that change time-honored practices of reading and writing. Carol Jago of the UCLA Writing Project is quoted. More ›

Writing Project Facilitates Digital Writing Studies in Alabama (December 19, 2010)

Gadsden Times
Etowah County Schools in Alabama, teaming up with the Jacksonville State University Writing Project, received a grant to use 21st-century classroom tools to improve student academic achievement. The grant was designed around NWP's book Because Digital Writing Matters. More ›

Louisiana Students Capture Gulf Oil Spill Stories (December 17, 2010)

The Daily Iberian
Working with the National Writing Project of Acadiana, Louisiana teachers are having their students document their experiences with last spring's oil spill on Voices on the Gulf, a website created by Paul Allison of the New York City Writing Project. More ›

The New York Times: NWP Teachers Teach about the Gulf Oil Spill (December 15, 2010)

Paul Allison of the New York City Writing Project writes for The New York Times' blog The Learning Network about a school-based social media site, Voices on the Gulf, that he and a group of teachers from around the country developed in response to last spring's oil spill. More ›

Educators Discover How Hands-On Learning Can Help Teach Writing (December 11, 2010)

O'Reilly Radar
Dale Dougherty, the publisher of MAKE magazine, writes about a workshop organized by the National Writing Project that introduced about 50 teachers to "making" as a way to teach writing. More ›

Prairie Lands Writing Project Receives Congressional Praise (November 30, 2010)

St. Joseph News-Press
In the run-up to last week's Senate vote on earmarks, which threatened the funding of the National Writing Project, the Prairie Lands Writing Project received a vote of confidence from Missouri's senators. More ›

Teacher Groups Fight to Maintain Funding (November 29, 2010)

Education Week
Education organizations that recruit, train, and provide professional development for thousands of teachers are encouraging senators to vote "no" on an amendment that threatens the funding of several national education programs. More ›

Earmark Ban Would Affect Numerous Education Programs (November 24, 2010)

Publishers Weekly
A proposed earmark ban, to be voted on by the Senate early next week, would threaten the funding of a number of childhood literacy and education programs, including NWP. More ›

Earmark Ban Would Result in Catastrophic Cuts for Children (November 23, 2010)

Huffington Post
It's rare that a single vote could decimate an entire segment of America's nonprofit sector and place millions of children and families in jeopardy, but that's exactly what's at stake in Monday's vote in the U.S. Senate on Amendment 4697. More ›

Definition of Writing Shifting, Maine Teacher Says (November 23, 2010)

Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning
Students of Dave Boardman, Maine Writing Project teacher-consultant, are using video, music, and various multimedia to reimagine the very meaning of reading and writing. More ›

Senate Amendment Threatens to Doom Writing Project (November 22, 2010)

St. Joseph News-Press
An amendment scheduled to go to a public Senate vote on November 29 could threaten the funding of the National Writing Project and its local sites, including one in Northwest Missouri that has become a local institution. More ›

Kean University Host Second Annual National Day of Writing (November 9, 2010)

The Kean University Writing Project in New Jersey hosted its second annual National Day of Writing with a variety of activities, including sessions and writing workshops led by students and professors. More ›

Boston Area Writing Center Helps Students Find their Voice (November 9, 2010)

The Boston Writing Project has teamed with other organizations to help Charlestown High open a writing center where students get the opportunity to work one-on-one with graduate students from the University of Massachusetts. More ›

Project Helps Virginia Teachers Get Kids Excited About Writing (November 1, 2010)

The News Leader
After completing the invitational summer institute and learning new teaching strategies, Central Virginia Writing Project teacher-consultants are seeing a new and excited attitude towards writing on the part of their students. More ›

Writing Project Teachers Receive NCTE Awards (October 29, 2010)

Julie Johnson, a teacher-consultant with the Columbus Area Writing Project, will receive the Donald H. Graves Award for Excellence, while Robert Yagelski, director of New York Capital District Writing Project, will be honored with the 2010 Janet Emig Award at the 2010 National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention. More ›

New Jersey School Celebrates Writing with Benjamin Franklin (October 28, 2010)

NJToday.net
In partnership with the Kean University National Writing Project, Franklin School students participated in the National Day on Writing by writing with a special guest who was the theme for their activities. More ›

Arkansas Writing Project Teacher Puts Humor into History (October 28, 2010)

Ozarks Unbound
Mike Thomas, a co-director of the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project, is interviewed about his original play, "Digging Up Arkansas," which has received outstanding reviews from audiences. More ›

Writing Week in Rhode Island Called a Success (October 26, 2010)

The Anchor
A five-day writing workshop, supported by the Rhode Island Writing Project and held in conjunction with the National Day on Writing, provided a forum for stress-free practice and improvement. More ›

Vermont Students Gather for Creative Writing Marathon (October 25, 2010)

The Vermont Cynic
The National Day on Writing inspired a University of Vermont creative writing event, co-sponsored by the National Writing Project in Vermont. More ›

Arkansas Math and Science Students Celebrate Writing (October 20, 2010)

KAIT
The Math and Science School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, celebrated its first National Day on Writing with speeches from the city's mayor and a published author from the school's very own staff. More ›

Tennessee Youth Program Expands Joys of Writing (October 7, 2010)

The West Tennessee Writing Project has reignited their annual Saturday Young Writers' Clubhouses, a series of writing experiences for children between third and eighth grade. More ›

Family Literacy Day Celebrated in Indiana (September 30, 2010)

Evansville Courier & Press
The River Bend Writing Project helped organize the literacy day, which included free books for children and more than two dozen local authors who signed their books and talked about their craft. More ›

Alabama Schools Start New Writing Program (September 28, 2010)

The Randolph Leader
Cathy Buckhalt of the Sunbelt Writing Project is helping to start a writers-in-residence program at her local middle and high schools. More ›

“Sorcerer’s Apprentice” Writing Camp Draws Students from Midwest (September 28, 2010)

The Volante
Slamming, sharing, writing, and revising. Those are some of the activities the Vermillion Literary Project and the Dakota Writing Project put on for high school students attending the fifth annual "Sorcerer's Apprentice: Creative Writing Camp." More ›

Illinois SAT Scores Demonstrate Importance of Teaching Writing (September 13, 2010)

Chicago Tribune
Illinois posted the highest average score in the nation on the essay portion of the SAT, but writing still needs to be a higher priority in schools, warned education leaders, such as Barbara Kato, director of the Chicago Area Writing Project. More ›

Ohio Teacher’s Writing Lessons Prove Power of the Pen (September 10, 2010)

Columbus Local News
Julie Johnson, teacher-consultant with the Columbus Area Writing Project, was rewarded with the national Donald H. Graves Award for her emphasis on the teaching of writing at Avery Elementary. More ›

NWP Teacher Shapes Edtech Environment (September 10, 2010)

Tech & Learning
Troy Hicks, director of the Chippewa River Writing Project and co-author of the upcoming book Because Digital Writing Matters, was named one of the top 30 future leaders in education technology by Tech & Learning magazine. More ›

Arizona Site Director Discusses Native American Young Adult Lit (September 10, 2010)

Washington Post
James Blasingame, director of the Central Arizona Writing Project, covers the spectrum of notable works and must-reads in Native American young adult literature in this piece for The Washington Post. More ›

Indiana Teacher Receives Top Honor (September 4, 2010)

The Journal Gazette
Appleseed Writing Project teacher-consultant Michelle White, a seventh-grade language arts teacher at Northwood Middle School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was named Fort Wayne Community Schools teacher of the year. More ›

Honored California Teacher Plans Innovative Writing Lessons (September 3, 2010)

Tracy Press
Krista Beltran, the 2010-11 San Joaquin County Teacher of the Year, plans to use her Great Valley Writing Project experience to introduce her peers to innovative ways of teaching writing to students. More ›

Award-Winning Teachers Dole Out Advice on Fixing Public Schools (August 30, 2010)

CNN.com
CNN asked award-winning teachers how to fix public schools. Bruce Penniman, former co-director of the Western Massachusetts Writing Project and 1999 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, emphasized access to technology. More ›

New York Times Features Teacher's Oil Spill Infographic Project (August 27, 2010)

The New York Times
Diana Laufenberg of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia details in a New York Times blog her inquiry-driven student design project, which was first discussed on the National Writing Project-affiliated show Teachers Teaching Teachers. More ›

New York Teacher at the Center of Teaching in the Digital Age (August 27, 2010)

Joel Malley, a teacher-consultant with the Western New York Writing Project, was profiled for his teaching methods using digital media in Teachers Are the Center of Education: Writing, Learning and Leading in the Digital Age. More ›

NWP on CNN: How Technology Can Benefit Classroom Writing (August 24, 2010)

CNN
In an interview on CNN's Connect the World, NWP Executive Director Sharon J. Washington encourages the use of digital writing in the classroom to equip students with the technology-related communication skills they need to thrive in our information-rich, high-speed, high-tech culture. More ›

Arkansas Teachers Explore Digital Writing (August 23, 2010)

The Northwest Arkansas Writing Project helps teachers and students connect through technology in the classroom by creating digital lessons. More ›

Teachers Bring Lessons of Holocaust to Alabama (August 23, 2010)

The Huntsville Times
Eugene Fedoseyev, an Alabama A&M University Writing Project teacher-consultant who studied the history of the Holocaust at the 2010 Memorial Library Summer Seminar on Holocaust Education, brought the lessons back to his classes in Huntsville. More ›

Declining Writing Scores in Colorado Cause Concern (August 11, 2010)

The Denver Post
NWP Executive Director Sharon J. Washington comments on the need for more writing instruction in schools, not only as it relates to academic assessments, but also for gaining job skills and raising student achievement. More ›

Summer Program Gives West Virginia Teachers Confidence (August 6, 2010)

Charleston Gazette
At the Central West Virginia Writing Project, teachers come into the summer institute as "teachers teaching writing," and leave as "writers teaching writing." More ›

Kansas City Teachers Dealing with Influx of English Language Learners (August 2, 2010)

WDAF-TV
The Greater Kansas City Writing Project is focusing on the challenges teachers face with English language learners, helping them find what works in the classroom to ensure all students learn. More ›

How to Improve Writing for Children (July 29, 2010)

eHow
Writing doesn't have to be a dreaded process for a child. This eHow article features tips from the National Writing Project to get kids writing. More ›

Arizona Students Put Texting Aside for “rl txt” (July 28, 2010)

Arizona State University News
The inaugural summer of the "rl txt" young writers' institute, sponsored by the Central Arizona Writing Project, proved that young people do have "text"—real text, real writing—to share. More ›

Better Writing for Milwaukee Teachers and Students (July 24, 2010)

Univeristy of Wisconsin-Milwaukee News
Local teachers learned how to be better writers and teachers of writing this summer at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Writing Project's invitational summer institute, held on the campus. More ›

Maine Campers Kindle Creative Fires with Pens, Pages (July 23, 2010)

The Times Record
Students at this writing camp don't have to be the best writers, just creative, say organizers from the Maine Writing Project. In fact, the biggest growth teachers observe in students is a boost in confidence. More ›

Georgia Teacher Participates in Intense Summer Workshop (July 22, 2010)

Rockdale Citizen
A teacher-consultant with the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project relates her experience with the summer institute as an "intense" focus on writing, and hopes to continue her relationship with the local site. More ›

Colorado Students Learn to Spin Thoughts Creatively (July 22, 2010)

The Pueblo Chieftain
Students' colorful and creative writing styles are flourishing through their participation in a week-long writing camp hosted by the Southern Colorado Writing Project at Colorado State University-Pueblo. More ›

Arkansas Teachers Find Writing Inspiration, Confidence in Downtown Little Rock (July 21, 2010)

University of Arkansas Examiner
Teachers who attend the Little Rock Writing Project's summer institute describe it as intensive and the application process as competitive. Yet those who complete it say it yields enormous payoffs. More ›

Technology a Key Tool in Writing Instruction (July 18, 2010)

eSchool News
Students should have an opportunity to write for a real audience and collaborate on writing projects, according to experts such as the College Board and the NWP—and the Internet can help. More ›

Teachers Need Time, Training to Use Computers Well (July 17, 2010)

Charleston Gazette
Paul Epstein, co-director of the Central West Virginia Writing Project, writes in the Charleston Gazette that teachers need sustained professional development, like the kind offered by NWP, for teachers to effectively implement a 21st century curriculum for all students. More ›

Wabanaki Writers Project in Maine Explores Writing and Culture (July 16, 2010)

WAGM-TV 8
Working with the University of Maine Writing Project, Wabanaki teachers and students got busy writing during a summer class, exploring culture and identity along the way. More ›

Illinois Teachers Find Creative Writing Inspiration (July 15, 2010)

Mattoon Journal-Gazette
Teachers at the Eastern Illinois Writing Project summer institute have not only studied the teaching of writing, but how to be writers themselves. More ›

Teachers Flock to Northern Virginia for Prestigious Writing Project (July 15, 2010)

The Winchester Star
At the Northern Virginia Writing Project summer institute, teachers are inspired to incorporate writing into their lesson plans—whether they're teaching math or history or other subjects, in kindergarten or college classrooms. More ›

Young Texan Writers Polishing “Pearls” (July 14, 2010)

San Angelo Standard Times
For the children in the Pearl of the Concho Writing Project's Young Writers' Camp at Angelo State University, campers say the fun is in fulfilling their dreams of being authors. More ›

North Dakota Teachers Train to Help Students Love to Write (July 10, 2010)

Minot Daily News
What's a teacher to do when a student says, "I hate writing," and nothing seems to work? Teachers at the Northern Plains Writing Project summer institute were discussing possible solutions. More ›

Utah Teachers Learn How Writing Is Key to Learning (July 9, 2010)

Standard-Examiner
Writing well helps you think well, argues a newspaper columnist, who spent some time with the Wasatch Range Writing Project in Ogden, Utah. More ›

Young Writers Hone Skills at California Summer Camp (July 9, 2010)

The Turlock Journal
Students gathered from near and far for the Turlock Young Writers Workshop, a program offered by the Great Valley Writing Project for more than 20 years. More ›

Young California Writers Take the Stage (July 8, 2010)

Marin Independent Journal
Students at the Bay Area Writing Project's Young Writers Camp took their words from the paper to the stage, reading before an audience of their peers. More ›

North Dakota Teachers Hone Writing Skills (July 8, 2010)

KX TV
The Northern Plains Writing Project summer institute is a month-long program that allows educators from around the region to share ideas and learn new methods of improving student writing. More ›

West Virginia Teachers Incorporate Technology into Classrooms (July 7, 2010)

The Herald-Dispatch
As the Marshall University Writing Project summer institute wraps up, teachers get a big lesson in incorporating technology into student writing projects. More ›

California Writing Program Challenges Migrant Youngsters (July 6, 2010)

The Modesto Bee
Writing in English didn't come easily, and they didn't have to go. Still, 40 middle-graders gave up three weeks of summer vacation to learn about poetry, expository paragraphs, and persuasive writing at the Migrant Writing Academy, a program created by the Great Valley Writing Project. More ›

Arkansas Teachers Find Literary Spark (July 5, 2010)

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Teacher-consultants from the Great Bear Writing Project explore the town for a writing marathon, one part of the four-week summer institute. More ›

Oregon Students Get Taste of Filmmaking (June 30, 2010)

The Observer
A week-long filmmaking camp co-sponsored by the Oregon Writing Project at Eastern Oregon University gave students a chance to explore their creative sides in new ways. More ›

California Summer Program Gets Youth Excited to Write (June 15, 2010)

Manteca Bulletin
Summer writing programs co-sponsored by the Great Valley Writing Project are attracting dozens of fourth- through 12th-grade students. Organizers say the programs benefit both students and the teachers who serve as writing coaches. More ›

Texas Writing Teachers Find Their Inner Author (June 14, 2010)

The University of Texas at Austin
The Heart of Texas Writing Project exists to remind every student who has a poet inside and every high school teacher who wants to pen her memoirs that writing is for everybody and that good writers are made, not born. More ›

NWP Teacher-Consultant Named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year (June 12, 2010)

Boston Globe
Floris Wilma Ortiz-Marrero, an NWP ELL teacher-consultant responsible for shaping the way ELL students are taught in Massachusetts, was named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year at a ceremony in Boston. More ›

Colorado History Lesson Gets the Tech Treatment (June 12, 2010)

The Coloradoan
In partnership with the Colorado State University Writing Project, teachers and students in Fort Collins are using technology to create podcasts and multimedia shows to produce the Save Our Stories history program. More ›

Teachers Voice Their Ideas in Meeting with Duncan (May 25, 2010)

Twelve teachers—including Writing Project teachers—from a Facebook Group called "Teachers' Letters to Obama," discussed their education concerns with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and blogged about the meeting afterward. More ›

Young Writers Shine Through UCLA Writing Project (May 20, 2010)

The Colonial Gazette
High school students in southern California celebrated the 26th anniversary of the UCLA Writing Project's Young Writers' Retreat, where students hold group discussions, workshops, writing sessions, and open mic nights in front of a friendly audience. More ›

California Students Pour Hearts into Book Project (May 19, 2010)

Manteca Bulletin
Students at Lathrop Elementary School, including students of Great Valley Writing Project teacher-consultants, published a book titled "Warriors Rock!" and celebrated with a school-wide book party. More ›

Pennsylvania Teachers Emphasize Writing In All Subjects (May 16, 2010)

The Sentinel
Teachers in Pennsylvania are placing an emphasis on writing across school districts, grade levels, and all content areas. Shanetia Clark, director of the Capital Area Writing Project, is mentioned for her work with teachers. More ›

New Mexico Students Learn from Artist-in-Residence (May 12, 2010)

The Daily Times
The Bisti Writing Project helped bring in artist-in-residence Christine Hemp to the classroom to expand students' appreciation of writing and art. More ›

Taking Back School Reform: A Conversation Between Diane Ravitch and Mike Rose (May 12, 2010)

Teacher Magazine
Education scholars Diane Ravitch and Mike Rose held a conversation about issues raised in Ravitch's much-discussed new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System. The National Writing Project is mentioned as part of the solution to improving schools. More ›

Nine Years Later, A Dream Becomes Reality (May 6, 2010)

The Baltimore Sun
Nine years after middle school students in teacher Kristina Berdan's class first conceptualized it, they're getting their "Dream House" for after-school programs. Berdan is a teacher-consultant with the Maryland Writing Project. More ›

Maine Writing Project Teachers Open Writing Center (May 4, 2010)

WABI TV5
Natalie Davis, Matt Pittis, and Melanie Ruark, teacher-consultants with the University of Maine Writing Project, opened a student-staffed writing center that will welcome students looking for help in all academic areas. More ›

Georgia Principal Improves Teachers’ Ability to Teach (May 1, 2010)

THE Journal
At Oak Grove Elementary School outside Atlanta, Principal Jennifer Scrivner of the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project is using technology to enable teachers to better know their students, which she says is at the heart of improving teaching practice. More ›

Pennsylvania Site Hosts Poetry Slam (April 30, 2010)

Pocono Record
Young poets prepare to battle at Slamfest, a spoken-word performance and competition hosted by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writing Project. More ›

Report: Writing Practice Improves Reading Skills (April 27, 2010)

Education Daily
The work of the NWP is highlighted in this story about how writing skills can help students improve their reading skills, as detailed in Writing to Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading, a new report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. More ›

Writing Project Teacher Talks to Secretary of Education on NPR (April 19, 2010)

Talk of the Nation
Stephanie Vanderslice, director of the Great Bear Writing Project, was one of the callers who posed tough questions to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on NPR's Talk of the Nation. More ›

Pulitzer Prize Winner Thanks Writing Project Teacher (April 14, 2010)

Washington Post
Kathleen Parker, the Washington Post columnist recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, devoted a piece to thank one inspirational teacher, James Gasque of the Midlands Writing Project. More ›

Missouri Professor Makes the Case for NWP (April 12, 2010)

St. Louis Globe-Democrat
Jane Zeni, former director of the Gateway Writing Project, gives her reasons to support continued funding of the National Writing Project. More ›

Washington Elementary School Taps Power of Writing (April 12, 2010)

The News Tribune
With help from the Puget Sound Writing Project based at the University of Washington, teachers at Nelson Elementary School have put a special emphasis on writing, much to the delight of the students. More ›

NWP Inspires Creative and Entrepreneurial Educators (April 12, 2010)

Washington Times
John Creighton writes in his Washington Times blog about the value of the National Writing Project to teachers' professional development and student achievement—and why it needs continued funding. More ›

New York Times: Fed Funding Proposal Threatens NWP and RIF (April 8, 2010)

New York Times
Changes in the way the federal government plans to allocate money to literacy groups pose a severe threat to two of the country's leading literacy nonprofit groups, the National Writing Project and Reading Is Fundamental. More ›

Federal Budget Threatens to Zero Out Funding for Literacy Programs (April 1, 2010)

School Library Journal
The National Writing Project and Reading is Fundamental may be cut from the proposed federal budget for the 2011 fiscal year, raising concerns among local educators, many of whom have been encouraging colleagues to write letters to Congress and voice their support. More ›

San Diego Area Teacher Wins District Award (March 28, 2010)

North County Times
Rebecca Gemmell, named the Escondido Union High School District teacher of the year, credits the San Diego Area Writing Project with helping her become the teacher she is today. More ›

Education Requires Comprehensive Approach to Technology (March 27, 2010)

NWP teachers weigh in on the opportunities and challenges of using digital tools for teaching writing, and the need for professional development in the effective use of technology for teaching and learning. More ›

Maine Voices: Teaching Kids to Write Is an Important Task (March 21, 2010)

Portland Press Herald
Writer and teacher-consultant Joanne Lannin of the Southern Maine Writing Project details why it's not good news when a program that spurs teachers on is threatened with dissolution. More ›

Tell Congress to Make the Write Decision (March 12, 2010)

Take Part
This op-ed writer says that the Obama Administration's 2011 budget proposal to consolidate a group of literacy programs might seem like an admirable goal, but it means the loss of vital programs, including the National Writing Project. More ›

“Winterim” Program Gives Young Pennsylvania Writers Creative Outlet (March 9, 2010)

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Western Pennsylvania Writing Project co-sponsored the first Young Writers Institute's "Winterim," a creative writing program that involved theater, radio, computers, guitars, paint, and a very creative group of teachers. More ›

Six New Sites Added to NWP Network (March 1, 2010)

The National Writing Project announces the addition of six new sites, located in Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, and New York. More ›

Writing Project Inspires New York Times Writer (February 26, 2010)

The New York Times
Katherine Schulten, a teacher-consultant with the New York City Writing Project and a writer for The New York Times's blog The Learning Network, recalls how the NWP shaped her teaching style and her students' ability to "think in writing." More ›

Administration's 2011 Budget Request Eliminates Direct Funding for NWP (February 23, 2010)

NCTE urged its members to contact their legislators in support of NWP because the Obama administration's 2011 budget proposal consolidates funding for the NWP with that of five other literacy programs. More ›

Plymouth Writing Project (NH) and Founding Director Recognized (February 22, 2010)

The Citizen of Laconia
A $25,000 endowed Peterson Scholarship has been established at Plymouth State University, recognizing in particular Meg Petersen, a professor of English at Plymouth State University and founder of the Plymouth Writing Project. More ›

Ohio Teacher-Consultant Wins State Award (February 19, 2010)

Sun Star-Courier
Lynne Krug, a teacher-consultant with the National Writing Project at Kent State University, was named the 2010 Teacher of the Year runner-up. More ›

Effective Literacy Programs Lose Funding (February 16, 2010)

Education Week
Donalyn Miller, teacher-consultant with the North Star of Texas Writing Project, says on her Education Week blog that "we must fight to keep literacy programs that have been proven to work," such as the NWP. More ›

Arizona Summer Program to Feature “rl txt” (February 10, 2010)

Arizona State University News
The Central Arizona Writing Project is offering two summer sessions to teenagers this summer that focus on producing genuine writing, or "real texts," in a collaborative and non-evaluative environment. More ›

Obama Budget a Blueprint for Department of Education Overhaul (February 5, 2010)

Education Week
Education Week examines President Barack Obama's proposed $49.7 billion budget for the U.S. Department of Education, including how it might affect organizations such as the National Writing Project. More ›

Massachusetts Middle Schoolers Write Novels (February 3, 2010)

The Herald News
Working under the tutelage of Buzzards Bay Writing Project teacher-consultant Louise Brady, twelve students participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and churned out completed books. More ›

Writing Project Gives Nebraska Teachers Confidence (January 25, 2010)

Omaha World-Herald
The Oxbow Writing Project, a new writing project site located at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, is planning events for teachers to discuss effective and ineffective methods of classroom writing instruction. More ›

Help Your Child Build Writing Skills (January 13, 2010)

SchoolFamily.com
Shelbie Witte of the Florida State University Writing Project shares her list of practical strategies for helping children become better writers. More ›

Delaware Teacher Among Those Honored by White House (January 12, 2010)

University of Delaware College of Education & Public Policy
Jo Anne Pryor Deshon, Delaware Writing Project teacher-consultant, was among a select group of elementary school teachers awarded the 2008 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). More ›

New Art-Oriented High School in Philadelphia Praised (January 12, 2010)

The Philadelphia Inquirer
Led by principal Jessica Brown, who is also a Philadelphia Writing Project teacher-consultant, the new Arts Academy at Rush High School is receiving high marks for its academic focus, arts bent, and emphasis on technology and other 21st-century skills. More ›

Fifteen Questions for a Louisiana Teacher (January 8, 2010)

St. Tammany News
Jeralyn Spiehler, teacher-consultant with the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project, talks about the secrets of her teaching success and the classroom matters that have stayed the same over time. More ›

New York Teacher Helps Students Probe Beliefs (January 6, 2010)

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
Inspired by a writing project workshop she attended, teacher-consultant and seventh-grade language arts teacher Danielle Norton-Hippert assigned her class to write about what exactly they believe. More ›

New York Tech Liaison Named Leader of the Year (December 21, 2009)

Tech & Learning
Tech & Learning named Paul Allison, New York City Writing Project technology liaison, a Leader of the Year for his work on Youth Voices, a school-based social network for students, and Teachers Teaching Teachers, a weekly podcast on teaching and learning in 21st century classrooms. More ›

Northern Virginia Writing Project Rewrites Teachers' Approach to the Craft (December 17, 2009)

Washington Post
Teaching writing has changed in Virginia as a result of the Northern Virginia Writing Project. The writing project is mentoring the next generation with new technology, and writing teachers are writers now, as well as professional collaborators. More ›

Characters Most Welcome in New Jersey Classroom (December 16, 2009)

The Record
After attending workshops put on by the National Writing Project at Rutgers University and changing their approach to teaching, educators such as West Milford fifth-grade teacher Phyllis Blau say students are much more enthusiastic about writing. More ›

Teen Poets Give Teacher Hope for Central California City (December 9, 2009)

The Salinas Californian
Teacher-consultant Natalie Bernasconi writes a moving op-ed about Teen Salinas Slam, a poetry competition and open mic for teen poets, organized in part by the Central California Writing Project and local students. More ›

Arkansas Professor Finds Place for Teens’ Music in English Class (December 4, 2009)

The Colleague
Chris Goering, University of Arkansas assistant professor and site director of the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project, says discussing song lyrics in the classroom can help students connect in multiple, complex levels with traditional literature. More ›

Kansas City Teachers Become Students Again (December 3, 2009)

Sun Tribune
Teachers spent several days sharpening their own skills at a writer's workshop at the Northland Writing Academy, produced in partnership with the Greater Kansas City Writing Project. More ›

Lowcountry Teachers in South Carolina Do the “Write” Thing (November 26, 2009)

Post and Courier
The Lowcountry Writing Project is one of those "behind the scenes" organizations that makes living in Charleston a more enriching experience, according to local paper The Post and Courier. More ›

Teen Poetry Exposes Heart of Central California Neighborhood (November 23, 2009)

Monterey County Herald
Workshops co-sponsored by the Central California Writing Project allow teens from East Salinas to fight back against the realities of gang culture and violence—with words, with attitude, and with passion. More ›

The New Writing Pedagogy (November 23, 2009)

District Administration
Thanks to Web-based social networking tools, the next revision of writing pedagogy—one that emphasizes digital spaces, multimedia texts, global audiences, and linked conversations among passionate readers—may be upon us. Three NWP teacher-leaders are quoted. More ›

Nation’s Most Promising Teen Writers Published in New Anthology (November 23, 2009)

StreetInsider.com
Highlighting the emerging talent of American teen writers, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers has released The Best Teen Writing of 2009, which features work from young writers, ages 12–18, and includes an introductory essay by Dr. Sharon J. Washington, NWP's executive director. More ›

The National Commission on Writing and College Board Series of Reports (November 15, 2009)

In an effort to focus national attention on the teaching and learning of writing, the College Board established the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges. The Commission and the College Board have published a series of reports on the importance of high-quality writing instruction. More ›

Mystery Writing Inspires West Tennessee Students (November 5, 2009)

Dyersburg State Gazette
The West Tennessee Writing Project, led by teacher-consultants Jenny Brandon and Becky Hasselle, hosted a Young Writers Clubhouse on Halloween, attracting many excited students from across the area. More ›

Arkansas Site Director Named English Teacher of the Year (November 3, 2009)

Log Cabin Democrat
Stephanie Vanderslice, associate professor of writing at the University of Central Arkansas and site director of the Great Bear Writing Project, has been named Arkansas University English Teacher of the Year. More ›

Michigan Teacher Teaches by Example (October 26, 2009)

Petoskey News-Review
Teacher-leader Dan Polleys of the Red Cedar Writing Project credits the writing project for boosting his career and for allowing him to assume a greater leadership role as a teacher. More ›

Michigan Students Put Pen to Paper (October 22, 2009)

Monroe News
Students at Flat Rock High School took the time to write, write, and write some more as part of the National Day on Writing festivities on campus, sponsored by the Eastern Michigan Writing Project. More ›

California Families Write Together for National Day on Writing (October 21, 2009)

Manteca Bulletin
The Great Valley Writing Project held a Family Writing Night to celebrate the National Day on Writing, attracting dozens of parents and children who shared their creativity with each other. More ›

Rhode Island Students Let Words Fly in Writing Marathon (October 21, 2009)

Providence Journal
Dozens of fourth- and fifth-graders fanned out across the Rhode Island College campus on the National Day on Writing as part of a writing marathon organized by the Rhode Island Writing Project. More ›

New Mexico College Students Stop By to Write (October 21, 2009)

The Daily Times
San Juan College and the Bisti Writing Project organized a place for students to contribute their works online for the National Day on Writing. More ›

Texas Teachers Fill Hundreds of Sacks With Stories (October 20, 2009)

Standard-Times
In Texas, Pearl of the Concho Writing Project teacher-consultants gathered to fill 400 story sacks to encourage students to write on the National Day on Writing and beyond. More ›

Study Finds Arts Education Improves Graduation Rates (October 20, 2009)

findingDulcinea
A recent report found that schools offering the most arts education had the highest graduation rates. This article tells how parents and teachers can stimulate and nurture creativity before high school, including ideas from the NWP. More ›

Western Pennsylvania Writing Project Teachers Put Students in Spotlight (October 20, 2009)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Amy Rigsby and Marnie Arnold, Western Pennsylvania Writing Project teacher-consultants, were two of many teachers to help their students publish work in the National Gallery of Writing. More ›

Eastern Michigan Students to Celebrate National Day on Writing (October 18, 2009)

The Eastern Echo
On October 20, Eastern Michigan University will celebrate the National Day on Writing with an entire day of writing events that reflect the multitude of styles and types of writing students participate in. More ›

Teachers Are the Center of Education: Profiles of Eight Teachers (October 17, 2009)

Charleston Gazette
A new report, Teachers Are the Center of Education: Profiles of Eight Teachers, describes several accomplished teachers, including Seth Mitchell, a technology liaison with the Maine Writing Project. More ›

The Rhode Island Writing Project Celebrates the National Day on Writing (October 15, 2009)

The Anchor
A student newspaper editor at Rhode Island College reflects on what a writing marathon, hosted by the Rhode Island Writing Project to celebrate the National Day on Writing, means to her and the campus at large. More ›

World War II History Lesson Inspires Play in Indiana (October 2, 2009)

The Post-Tribune
The Northwest Indiana Writing Project is cosponsoring a presentation of Life in a Jar, a play written by a high school class. In the course of a history writing assignment, the class uncovered the story of a social worker in Poland who helped save thousands of children from the Nazis during World War II. More ›

Training Is Key to Schools’ Digital Media Use (September 25, 2009)

eSchool News
Teachers need high-quality professional development to engage students in learning through digital media, according to education experts invited to a September 21 Capitol Hill briefing, which included NWP Executive Director Dr. Sharon J. Washington. More ›

Western Massachusetts Writing Project Winners Share Knowledge (September 1, 2009)

The Republican
As part of the school system's effort to connect each grade's writing skills to the next, local teacher-consultants will share what they learned from the summer institute with their colleagues. More ›

New Jersey High School Looks to Writing Project for Improvement (August 27, 2009)

Warren Reporter
Eleven teachers from Warren Hills Regional High School were trained to implement the NWP model in all content areas, something administrators hope will result in "a strong emphasis on writing in areas other than English and social studies." More ›

Swamp Fox Writing Project Believes in Teachers Teaching Teachers (August 26, 2009)

SCNow.com
Since its inception ten years ago, more than 140 teachers from the Swamp Fox Writing Project in South Carolina have gone on to become school and district teacher leaders. More ›

Class on Writing Serves as Muse for Texas Teachers (August 24, 2009)

San Angelo Standard-Times
Teachers are entering the school season with a new view of writing after completing the summer institute at the Pearl of the Concho Writing Project in San Angelo, Texas. More ›

Young Central California Writers Explore “Magic” of Writing (August 19, 2009)

Salinas Californian
Twenty-six Salinas-area writers, ages 10 to 14, took part in the Central California Writing Project's Young Writers Camp 2009. Conducted with The National Steinbeck Center's Steinbeck Festival, the five-day conference aligned its theme to the festival's "Legends, Myth and Magic," which focused on Steinbeck's fascination with King Arthur. More ›

Get School Supplies Before Teachers Do! (August 18, 2009)

Marketplace
One school population segment is out shopping for the best deals at back-to-school sales. Commentator and San Marcos Writing Project teacher-consultant Allen Teng raised his hand to tell the public radio show Marketplace about it. More ›

SUNY Program Stokes Teachers' Passion for Written Word (August 2, 2009)

Elmira Star-Gazette
Teachers learn how to hone their writing skills as part the Seven Valleys Writing Project, which is in its second year. The program is free for teachers—even their textbooks are covered. More ›

Young Writers’ Camp Caps Third Year in California Cities (July 31, 2009)

Temecula Valley News
Students explore the writing, revising, and publishing process at Young Writers' Camp, which is part of the California State San Marcos Writing Project. More ›

Observation and Writing Nurture Critical Thinking (July 26, 2009)

Catherine LeMar, a teacher-consultant with the West Texas Writing Project, discusses the importance of developing observational skills as a foundation for critical thinking. More ›

Texas Teacher Emphasizes Reading and Writing in Early Years (July 25, 2009)

Bernadette Valenzuela, a teacher-consultant with the West Texas Writing Project, discusses the importance of early reading and writing and their role in school success. More ›

Indiana Writing Teachers Write (July 8, 2009)

South Bend Tribune
Teachers at the Hoosier Writing Project summer institute remember what it's like to be students as they help each other become better writers and, in the process, better teachers. More ›

Teachers Get Schooled in South Carolina (July 6, 2009)

The Herald
For the handful of teachers in the Winthrop Writing Project, summer is when class starts. Throughout June, educators gathered to work on becoming better writers and better writing teachers. More ›

Summer Writing Program Helps Central California Migrant Students Improve English (July 4, 2009)

The Record
Selected students in San Joaquin County, where more than one in five schoolchildren speak a language other than English at home, are improving their English skills at a Great Valley Writing Project summer writing camp. More ›

“Book Whisperer” Awakens the Inner Reader in Children (July 2, 2009)

The View from the Bay
Donalyn Miller, teacher-consultant with the North Star of Texas Writing Project and widely-read literacy expert, discusses her book, The Book Whisperer, during a recent tour around the country. More ›

Teachers Focus on Writing Skills at Four-Week University of Arkansas Invitational (July 1, 2009)

University of Arkansas Daily Headlines
Eleven Arkansas teachers have been invited to learn new strategies to improve their students' writing skills this summer during the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project invitational institute on the University of Arkansas campus. More ›

Arizona Teachers Learn to Be as Good as Their Words (June 26, 2009)

Arizona Daily Star
Teachers gather in Tuscon for the Southern Arizona Writing Project's summer institute to not only become better teachers and get "a taste of teaching paradise," but also to become better writers. More ›

South Carolina Teachers Develop Writing Strategies (June 20, 2009)

Aiken Standard
Teachers in South Carolina find common ground at the Aiken Writing Project's summer institute, where teachers develop writing strategies for their classrooms and become better writers themselves. More ›

Louisiana Students Engage in Downtown Writing Marathon (June 18, 2009)

The Daily Iberian
Teacher-consultants from the National Writing Project of Acadiana lead a group of elementary school students on a writing marathon through the "rich panoply of life on the Bayou Teche." More ›

Hawai`i Students Recognized for Writing Contest Entries (June 11, 2009)

Molokai Dispatch
A Hawai`i Writing Project teacher-consultant leads her students in a state writing contest. Some are chosen to read their pieces at the Hawai`i State Library. More ›

There Just Ain’t No Wrong Or Right Way To Talk (June 11, 2009)

Bristol Herald Courier
This newspaper column features Amy Clark, director of the Appalachian Writing Project, which recently won a $4,000 grant from the National Writing Project to study language patterns at public schools in southwestern Virginia. More ›

Philadelphia Writing Project Teachers Create 'Classroom Buzz' (June 1, 2009)

The Philadelphia Writing Project is profiled for reframing the "achievement gap" by using writing to help teachers explore issues of social justice, language, and race. More ›

Mississippi Teacher Publishes Book of Weekly Columns (June 1, 2009)

The Greenwood Commonwealth
Connie Bunch, a teacher-consultant with the Alcorn Writing Project, has been publishing a weekly column, "Bless Your Heart," in a local newspaper for a year. She's collected those columns into a book that has just been published. More ›

Teacher of the Year Creates Hunger to Learn (May 16, 2009)

The Bay Net
For her experience and desire to teach and instill children with a love for reading, teacher-consultant Janet Jones, a 33-year veteran educator with the Maryland Writing Project, earned the 2009 Charles County Public Schools Teacher of the Year award. More ›

Central Virginia Teacher Pens Adventure Book (May 13, 2009)

Altavista Journal
One year after taking part in the Central Virginia Writing Project, Mary R. Bailey finished a book titled Vhan Zeely and the Time Prevaricators. After finding a literary agent and a publisher on her first attempt, the book was printed. More ›

Indian Students in Texas Focus on Family Stories (May 12, 2009)

UTSA Today
The San Antonio Writing Project is putting on the Kahani Project, a literary endeavor in which Indian and other international students write family-oriented stories for public display. More ›

Spatial, Visual Rhetoric Meet New Media (May 5, 2009)

UANews
The First Year Writing Showcase, which incorporates teachings in writing and visual communication, began at the University of Arizona in 2007 and has since seen exponential growth in participation among UA students, faculty, and instructors. More ›

Tampa Bay Writing Project Helps School Improve Scores (May 1, 2009)

St. Petersburg Times
After partnering with the Tampa Bay Writing Project, Richey Elementary went from one of the county's lowest-performing schools in writing to scoring above grade level on this year's state writing exam. More ›

Louisiana Teen Wins National Poetry Award (May 1, 2009)

The Independent Weekly
Skyler Pham, a recent participant in the National Writing Project of Acadiana's invitational student writing retreat, was named the grand prize winner of the 2009 River of Words Poetry Contest sponsored by the Library of Congress' Center for the Book. More ›

Students and Community Explore Steinbeck, Writing, and Growing Up (April 30, 2009)

Salinas Californian
As part of the Steinbeck Young Authors Program, students from Central California paired up with community mentors for a Day of Writing at the National Steinbeck Center. Teacher-leader Natalie Bernasconi co-authored the curriculum and coached the mentors. More ›

Connecticut Students Write from a Different Point of View (April 25, 2009)

The Cheshire Herald
Each year, middle-schoolers from Dodd Middle School tackle a unique assignment designed to address perspective: they look at a piece of art and choose any aspect about which to write. The results are wonderfully creative. More ›

English Professor Remains Inspired by NWP (April 23, 2009)

The Spectator
After more than three decades at Chabot College, Dennis Chowenhill still counts working with NWP founder James Gray and attending the 1983 Bay Area Writing Project summer institute as major influences on his teaching. More ›

How One Professor Strives to Enrich Students’, Teachers’ Lives (April 23, 2009)

Daily Record
Professor Bobby Cummings, director of the Central Washington Writing Project, has made a name for herself by making writing central to Central Washington University. More ›

Investing in Writing to Win the Ed Race (April 22, 2009)

Teacher Magazine
Mary Tedrow, co-director of the Northern Virginia Writing Project, pens a column in Teacher Magazine describing the one thing she would change if she ran the education world: put at least one teacher trained through the National Writing Project in every school. More ›

The Write Kind of Teacher Training (March 17, 2009)

Washington DC Examiner
The National Writing Project has breathed new life into the lives and careers of thousands of teachers, and has the potential to transform whole schools and school systems, writes one teacher. Here is her story. More ›

The Writing Solution (March 10, 2009)

Washington DC Examiner
Teacher-consultant Erica Jacobs of the Northern Virginia Writing Project writes in the Washington DC Examiner about the link between reading and writing and the importance of writing communities. More ›

Ten New Sites Join NWP Network (February 6, 2009)

With the addition of ten new writing project sites this spring, the NWP now partners with more than two hundred colleges and universities to offer professional development programs. More ›

Students Write Environmental Guidebook for Desert Newcomers (February 5, 2009)

Green Valley News & Sun
In a project sponsored by the Southern Arizona Writing Project, students from Tucson wrote essays and drew illustrations for a book titled Desert Living Is Different! to help explain desert life for new residents. More ›

Arkansas State University to Host Writing Project (January 26, 2009)

The Herald of Arkansas State University
Arkansas State University will join over 200 universities that are currently home to a National Writing Project site. It will host a summer writing institute for Northeast Arkansas teachers in order to develop them more as writers and to enhance their ability to teach writing. More ›

Letters to the President: Part of a Shifting Mindset in Education (January 23, 2009)

ZDNet
An article on ZDNet Education profiles Letters to the Next President, a project co-sponsored by NWP and Google, and details what Internet-based software could mean for education. More ›

Bronx Students Lend President Advice (January 22, 2009)

YourNabe.com
Students from Christopher Columbus High School published opinions on issues such as immigration, health care, and the New York City public schools through Letters to the Next President, a project co-sponsored by NWP and Google. More ›

Obama as Writing Role Model for Students (January 20, 2009)

The Washington DC Examiner
President Barack Obama's path of self-discovery through writing could lead to greater student interest in classroom writing, argues this opinion piece by a teacher-consultant with the Northern Virginia Writing Project. More ›

Young Writers Provide Thoughtful Insights in Letters to the Next President (January 9, 2009)

The Times of Trenton
Gene A. Budig, a former university president and member of the College Board's National Commission on Writing, calls the writing done by students in NWP and Google's Letters to the Next President project "amazing" and "important." More ›

Blogging in Place: Writing That Explores New Neighborhoods (January 7, 2009)

Edutopia
Teachers with the National Writing Project are combining place-based learning, project learning, and blogging to connect classrooms, provide an authentic audience for student writing, and prompt students to explore the world outside the schoolhouse doors. More ›

New England Teacher's Love of Words Brings Accolades (December 13, 2008)

The Redding Pilot
Jack Powers, a fellow with the Connecticut Writing Project - Fairfield, was recently named the New England Poet of the Year by the New England Association of Teachers of English (NEATE). More ›

Teaching Dynamo Brought Rigor to All Students (December 8, 2008)

Washington Post
This Washington Post column remembers teacher Bernie Glaze, a former co-director of the Northern Virginia Writing Project who worked tirelessly to find the hidden potential in students. More ›

Nebraska Kids Turn Despair to Hope (December 5, 2008)

York News-Times
Students at McCool High School have benefited from a Holocaust Literature class, offered at the school for the first time by Danielle Bethune, one of 20 teachers nationwide chosen by NWP's Rural Sites Network to attend the Memorial Library Summer Seminar on Holocaust Education in New York City. More ›

New Mexico Schools Benefit from Writing Project (November 20, 2008)

The Daily Times
San Juan County teachers in New Mexico are benefiting from the National Writing Project's professional development programs and its dedicated network of teachers. More ›

Utah Sophomore Urges President to Develop Alternative Sources of Energy (November 13, 2008)

Salt Lake Tribune
In a letter featured on the Letters to the Next President website, Utah sophomore Matt Kirkegaard writes that the United States should focus its energy policy more on generating wind and solar power. More ›

Can Technology Make Teens Better Writers? (November 11, 2008)

MSN Encarta
New technologies are broadening the types of writing students can produce and consume. This article quotes former NWP Executive Director Richard Sterling and highlights the digital storytelling work of the University of Maine Writing Project. More ›

Writing Leads to Deeper Learning, Study Finds (November 10, 2008)

USA Today
When college courses provide extensive, intellectually challenging writing activities, students engage in a variety of positive activities, according to a report from the National Survey of Student Engagement. More ›

Can MySpace Make Better Writers? (November 9, 2008)

Miami Herald
Some teachers are embracing social networking sites, text messaging, and blogs as a way to revive student interest in writing. Former NWP Executive Director Richard Sterling is quoted in the article. More ›

Florida Students Write Moving Letters to Next President (November 8, 2008)

Suncoast News
Most of them won't even be eligible to vote in 2012, but eighth-graders at Hudson Middle School took great interest in the just-completed presidential election. The students took part in "Letters to the Next President," a collaborative effort between the National Writing Project and Google. More ›

New York Students Pen Powerful Letters to President (November 7, 2008)

WABC-TV
As the new president transitions into office, he's going to receive a lot of advice. Some of it is coming from New York students participating in the Letters to the Next President project. More ›

Students Sound Off: New Mexico Teens Write to Winner of Election (November 4, 2008)

The Daily Times
No matter who emerges victorious in the presidential election, students at Bloomfield High School are letting the winner know what's on their mind, writing letters to the future commander-in-chief as part in the "Letters to the Next President: Writing Our Future" project. More ›

North Carolina Students Writing “Letters to the Next President” (November 4, 2008)

WNCT-TV Channel 9
In Beaufort County, students at Northeast Elementary are writing letters to their future president. The goal is to get students thinking about issues that are important to them and then telling the president how those issues should be solved. More ›

Maryland Teens Express Concerns to Next President (November 2, 2008)

Baltimore Sun
Students from Aberdeen, Maryland, tackle a host of tough subjects—war, child abuse, crime, racism, the environment—when crafting their arguments in the Letters to the Next President project. More ›

Global Classroom Projects Bring Together Children Who Are Worlds Apart (October 29, 2008)

USC Upstate Headline News
The Global Classroom Project, with help from the Spartanburg Writing Project, connects schools in South Carolina, South Africa, and California by having students share their multimedia digital stories and interact via video conferences. More ›

Dear Mr. President: American Students Tell Their Concerns to Future President (October 23, 2008)

Examiner.com
Students from all over the country worked with their teachers to write persuasive letters to the future president about issues and concerns that they feel are central to their future. More ›

Google Helps Kids Get Messages to Next President (October 23, 2008)

WebProNews
Google gets involved with the presidential race by teaming up with the National Writing Project to publish students' letters to the next president on a highly-visible website. More ›

Indiana Students Addicted to Writing (October 21, 2008)

The News and Tribune
Social networking literacy assignments designed by Paul Hankins, Indiana University Southeast Writing Project teacher-consultant, have his students writing and reading like never before. More ›

Pennsylvania Teacher Says Summer Institute 'Widened Horizons' (October 20, 2008)

The Sentinel
Courtney Moore, a single mother who participated in the Capital Area Writing Project's summer institute, learned plenty of new ideas about how to teach writing from her fellow teachers. More ›

Video Features Mississippi Students Writing Letters to the Next President (October 10, 2008)

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
A Tupelo High School class taught by Ellen Shelton, a teacher-consultant with the University of Mississippi Writing Project, was one of three schools nationwide chosen to be videotaped for taking part in Letters to the Next President: Writing Our Future, a joint project sponsored by NWP and Google. More ›

Writing Project Teacher Named Washington Teacher of the Year (October 9, 2008)

The Daily Record
Susan Johnson, a teacher-consultant with the Central Washington Writing Project, has been named Washington State Teacher of the Year. The Central Washington Writing Project, she said, "has had much to do with defining who I am as an educator." More ›

Nebraska Students Voice Concerns at letters2president.org (October 7, 2008)

Aurora News-Register
Cathie English, a teacher-consultant with the Nebraska Writing Project, said letters2president.org will serve as a voice for hundreds of students across the United States, including her own. The project is sponsored jointly by NWP and Google. More ›

Arizona Kids Write Book About the Desert (October 5, 2008)

Arizona Daily Star
Students from Tucson, Arizona, wrote essays and drew illustrations for a book titled Desert Living Is Different! to help explain desert life for new residents. The book is a project sponsored by the Southern Arizona Writing Project. More ›

Illinois Students Write Letters to Presidential Candidates (October 3, 2008)

The News-Gazette
Students from Urbana High School in Illinois are participating in NWP's Writing Our Future: Letters to the Next President project. The letters will be brought to the attention of Congress, and possibly the candidates themselves. More ›

Textbook Guides Teachers on Alexie and Racial Issues (September 24, 2008)

The Missoulian
Teachers are using Sherman Alexie in the Classroom, coauthored by Montana Writing Project Director Heather Bruce, to introduce the works of Alexie to students and help start discussions about Native American and racial issues. More ›

Writing Project Fellow Named Oklahoma Teacher of the Year (September 19, 2008)

The Oklahoman
Heather Sparks, a math teacher at Taft Middle School and a 1995 writing project fellow, was named the 2009 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year for her unwavering commitment to students and her innovative and effective teaching methods. More ›

Idaho Teachers Find Novel Ways to Engage Students in Writing (September 16, 2008)

Idaho Statesman
Jeffrey Wilhelm, former director of the Maine Writing Project, and other writing project fellows have contributed to an award-winning educational series called "The 10," which promotes deep analysis and constructive argument rather than passive consumption. More ›

Two Ozarks Teachers Give Students Insight into the Holocaust (September 15, 2008)

Springfield News Leader
In an opportunity made possible through the Rural Sites Network, two southwestern Missouri teacher-consultants attended a seminar on teaching about the Holocaust. They've developed a curriculum to help students understand such horrendous events, and now they're teaching other teachers what they've learned. More ›

Calling Young English Learners: Send Us Your Advice for the Candidates (September 15, 2008)

Voice of America
Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, NWP director of national programs and site development, discusses the writing project and Letters to the Next President on Voice of America's Wordmaster, a program about language and learning English. More ›

Experts Broaden Approach to Pre-K Literacy (September 15, 2008)

Education Daily
Educators and parents should allow children to tap into their creative and exploratory skills, said early childhood literacy experts at the Sept. 15 unveiling of Our Book By Us!, a children's activity book codeveloped by NWP. More ›

Scribbling: 2B or not 2B dats da Q (September 14, 2008)

El Paso Times
April Warren-Stene, a teacher-consultant with the West Texas Writing Project, laments the decline of pen and paper writing by teens and their reliance on text messaging. More ›

It's Critical to Learn How to Be Critical Thinkers (September 13, 2008)

El Paso Times
Elsa Treviño, a West Texas Writing Project teacher-consultant, worries that the current education system has cultivated a breed of apathetic learners who are told what to think. More ›

American Professor Shares Teaching Ideas in Malta (September 12, 2008)

timesofmalta.com
Lil Brannon, director of NWP's UNC Charlotte Writing Project, traveled to Malta to train a group of teachers on how to help their students be better writers, and how to train other teachers to develop teaching strategies. More ›

Oregon Teachers Dive Into Writing (August 28, 2008)

The West Linn Tidings
Teachers with the Oregon Writing Project at Lewis and Clark College learned "new ways to make writing happen" at this year's summer institute. More ›

Indianapolis Students Engaged in “Letters to the Next President” Campaign (August 28, 2008)

TheIndyChannel.com
Teacher-consultant Nikia Garland signed her students up for NWP's Letters to the Next President: Writing Our Future project, seeing the contest between Barack Obama and John McCain as a way to use current events to inspire her class. More ›

Education Week Spotlights Writing Project Success (August 25, 2008)

Education Week
The National Writing Project showcases writing as a tool to unlock students' critical thinking and analytical skills as much as their creativity. More ›

New School Supplies Offer Teachers Fresh Start (August 22, 2008)

The Buffalo News
Jessica Wagner, a first-grade teacher with the Western New York Writing Project, pens an essay reflecting on the wonders of the school year starting anew. More ›

North Carolina's Tar River Writing Project on the Radio (August 20, 2008)

WUNC
East Carolina University English Professor Will Banks and two educators who took part in the Tar River Writing Project's summer institute discuss why teachers need to hone their writing skills to be better teachers. More ›

Writing Very Useful Method for Learning Math, Other Subjects (August 15, 2008)

El Paso Times
Evangelina Rogers, a West Texas Writing Project teacher-consultant, says writing assignments such as journals, learning logs, and poetry in mathematics courses often ask students to apply currently studied concepts to concrete "real life" situations. More ›

Creative Writing Gets High Marks in Summer (August 13, 2008)

The Solon Times
A two-week writers camp, organized by the National Writing Project at Kent State University, culminated in a coffeehouse sharing of participants' work with families and friends, as well as a published anthology with writing from every camper. More ›

Michigan Children Paint Pictures with Words (August 8, 2008)

The Daily News
A summer camp put on by the Lake Michigan Writing Project taught kids how to improve their writing, including fiction and nonfiction. More ›

Writing Craft Deserves More Attention (August 8, 2008)

The Citizen
A high school principal in New York argues that writing deserves more attention in schools. He notes that the local Seven Valleys Writing Project is providing such attention and having a successful impact on teachers. More ›

Rural Educators Work to Strengthen Teaching about the Holocaust (August 7, 2008)

Riverdale Press
Partnering with the Holocaust Educators Network, NWP supported teacher-consultants from the Rural Sites Network to attend the Memorial Library Summer Seminar on Holocaust Education. The seminar aims to help teachers develop a comprehensive curriculum for teaching and writing about the Holocaust and other difficult issues. More ›

UCLA Writing Project Strengthens Writing Skills for Korean Students (August 6, 2008)

UCLA International Institute
A group of 86 Korean students are enhancing their English reading and writing skills for four weeks through the UCLA Writing Project. More ›

Northern Virginia Writing Project Institute Offers Tips for Teachers (August 6, 2008)

The Winchester Star
The 30th annual Northern Virginia Writing Project summer institute provided peer-to-peer professional development that teachers say will improve their teaching. More ›

Tar River Writing Project Inspires Teachers (August 4, 2008)

The Daily Reflector
With its array of warm-hued floor lamps, the home for the Tar River Writing Project feels more like a cozy writers' lair than a classroom. And that's by design. More ›

Teacher Reflects on Candidates’ Education Platforms (August 1, 2008)

Los Angeles Times
Kate Applebee, Inland Area Writing Project teacher-consultant, writes in the Los Angeles Times that neither presidential candidate's proposed education solution can address underlying issues with the K–12 system. More ›

Eastern Illinois Institute Exposes Teachers to New Forms of Writing (August 1, 2008)

Journal Gazette
At the first summer institute of the Eastern Illinois Writing Project, teachers reported that they learned how to teach different styles of writing, and they built the kind of professional bonds that last a lifetime. More ›

U.S. Ambassador Visits Malta’s Writing Process Schools (August 1, 2008)

timesofmalta.com
U.S. Ambassador Molly Bordonaro paid a visit to Vittoriosa and Mqabba primary schools, where she witnessed the progress in language development by the children and their families. The writing process schools are doing a three-year program with the Malta Writing Programme (MWP), an Associated International Site of the NWP. More ›

Lack of Correct Grammar Needs Our Full Attention (July 27, 2008)

El Paso Times
Ana Diaz, a high school English language arts teacher and a teacher-consultant for the West Texas Writing Project, says bilingual Americans have added pressure to use correct grammar. More ›

Loss of Arts in School Is a Loss for Young Minds (July 25, 2008)

El Paso Times
Torsten Knauerhase, an elementary school teacher and a teacher-consultant for the West Texas Writing Project, argues for providing students with the tools and opportunities to be creative and imaginative. More ›

Teachers Become Students—and Writers—at Arkansas Writing Program (July 24, 2008)

Northwest Arkansas Times
Teachers at the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project's summer institute work on a variety of writing exercises and experiment with writing different types of material. More ›

Writing Skills Promoted at San Marcos Camp (July 24, 2008)

The Californian
At the conclusion of a summer writing camp run by the San Marcos Writing Project, dozens of students shared the stage to read their works aloud. More ›

Seven Valleys Writing Project Teachers Write On, and Read (July 20, 2008)

The Post-Standard
Teachers enrolled in a summer institute with the Seven Valleys Writing Project (New York) get put on the spot when reading their own work. More ›

Write To Keep Yourself Sane (July 19, 2008)

El Paso Times
Eric Ramos, a West Texas Writing Project teacher-consultant, lists the many reasons all of us should write. Above all, he emphasizes that to write is to be a writer. More ›

Students Benefit From Teachers’ Writing Project Experience (July 19, 2008)

The Minot Daily News
Teachers from the Northern Plains Writing Project say that what they learn from their summer institute experience carries into the classroom and ultimately helps the students themselves. More ›

Teachers Battle Image Problem, Mistrust, Empowerment Gap (July 13, 2008)

El Paso Times
Jonna Perrillo, director of the West Texas Writing Project, explores the historical reasons why some leaders who have no "experience or expertise in the classroom" are chosen to head the state's education board. More ›

Building Vocabulary Promotes Thinking, Enhances Communication (July 12, 2008)

El Paso Times
West Texas Writing Project Teacher-Consultant Chrissy Beltran argues that the well-being of our society depends in part on childrens' ability to increase their vocabulary and use new words in their writing. More ›

Writing Can Make Learning Math Personal (July 12, 2008)

El Paso Times
Melinda Cofield, a math teacher and teacher-consultant with the West Texas Writing Project, contends that writing should be an integral part of teaching math. More ›

High Schoolers Take Writing to Next Level (July 12, 2008)

The Citizen of Laconia
The Plymouth Writing Project (New Hampshire) organized a two-week summer writing camp for high school students and topped it off with a public reading. More ›

Summer Institute Enriches South African Voices (July 11, 2008)

San Antonio Express-News
Three South African educators attended the San Antonio Writing Project's annual five-week summer institute on the teaching of writing. Now they'll return to South Africa and create the Limpopo Writing Project. More ›

With FIRE In Their Pens, Young Writers Hone Skill (July 8, 2008)

The Tampa Tribune
Young writers' camps hosted by the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project prove to be so popular they have expanded into three cities. More ›

Writing Program Inspires Participants to Go Beyond Basics (July 5, 2008)

The Huntsville Item
A Sam Houston Writing Project creative writing program for third through eighth grade students has sent home 34 participants with the inspiration to go above and beyond the basics of Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) testing. More ›

Writing Program Gives Kids a Creative Start (June 26, 2008)

The Aiken Standard
The Young Writers Camp put on by the Aiken Writing Project (South Carolina) stretches the limits of students' creativity. More ›

Teacher-Consultant Helps Young Writers Find Their Voice (June 26, 2008)

Sacramento Bee
Cheri Olmstead of the Area 3 Writing Project (California) oversaw an eight-month writing project that allowed three girls to write, revise, edit, and eventually publish their own books. More ›

Getting to Know Sharon Washington (June 26, 2008)

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education profiles NWP's executive director, Sharon Washington, and reviews her two-decade career and commitment to social justice. More ›

Educators Test the Limits of Twitter Microblogging Tool (June 25, 2008)

Education Week's Digital Directions
The "microblogging" and social-networking website Twitter has begun to capture the attention of educators, including New York City Writing Project Technology Liaison Paul Allison, who built his own site, Youth Twitter. More ›

Aiken Writing Project Opens Doors for Teachers (June 25, 2008)

The Aiken Standard
Teachers at the Aiken Writing Project in South Carolina are finding that the summer institute is showing them how to be "more inclusive and authentic in the teaching of writing." More ›

Nueva herramienta bilingüe para enseñar a escribir y leer a los niños (June 22, 2008)

La Raza
La Raza introduce el libro Nuestro Libro ¡Hecho Por Nosotros! El libro es particionado por el National Writing Project con la colaboración de otras dos organizaciones. El artículo explica como el libro promociona la literatura e ayuda a los padres hispano hablantes para que sus niños lean y escriban más temprano en la niñez. More ›

Student Book Recalls North Dakota Tornado (June 19, 2008)

Grand Forks Herald
Students of Sarah Burger, a teacher-consultant with the Red River Valley Writing Project (ND), compiled a book of their personal writing about the tornado that devastated the town. More ›

Tri-State Teachers Sharpen Writing Skills Over Summer (June 19, 2008)

The Herald-Dispatch
After only a week-and-a-half into the summer institute at the Marshall University Writing Project, teachers there say the program has improved their writing and teaching. More ›

Former Site Director Discusses Summer Reading and Teaching Writing (June 11, 2008)

Bloomberg
Bruce Penniman, former site director of the Western Massachusetts Writing Project and a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts, talks with Bloomberg's Tom Keene about summer reading for students and teaching writing. More ›

Maine Writes a New Ed-Tech Success Story (June 2, 2008)

eSchoolNews
Maine's decision to provide every student with a laptop has created a number of positive outcomes: equity of access, increased attention to professional development, as well as improved standardized test scores. Sharon Bowman, a teacher-consultant with the Maine Writing Project, is featured in this article. More ›

Zero-Thumb Game: How to Tame Texting (May 28, 2008)

Edutopia
Writing project teachers weigh in on how to harness the popularity of text messaging among teens to generate interest in academic subjects and writing in general. More ›

Nebraska Students Find a Place in Poetry (May 2, 2008)

Grand Island Independent
Assigned to write poems as part of a class assignment sponsored by the Nebraska Writing Project, some student poets were selected to read their poetry at the state capitol. More ›

North Dakota Senator Praises the Writing Project (April 18, 2008)

KXMB
North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad emphasizes the importance of reading and writing—and the role the Northern Plains Writing Project plays in helping teachers teach writing more effectively. More ›

Site Director Responds to Gender Gap in Writing (April 7, 2008)

Education Daily
In this Ed Daily piece examining results that show NAEP scores for boys lagging behind those for girls in writing, Mary Buckelew of the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project offers suggestions for closing the gap. More ›

Illinois Teachers Emphasize Writing—and Get Results (April 7, 2008)

Illinois educators note that though writing isn't tested under No Child Left Behind, they have made sure it's a priority. That emphasis paid off: Illinois eighth-graders outperformed most of their peers around the country in NAEP's 2007 report. More ›

State Superintendent Credits Wyoming Writing Project for Boost (April 4, 2008)

Casper Star-Tribune
Wyoming students outscored the U.S. national average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress's 2007 writing test for the first time. The state superintendent said that professional development provided by Wyoming Writing Project teachers played a key role in improving student writing. More ›

NWP Comments on NAEP Writing Results in Wall Street Journal (April 4, 2008)

Wall Street Journal
After The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007 revealed gains made by eighth- and twelfth-graders, the Wall Street Journal asked NWP Executive Director Sharon Washington to comment on results. More ›

ELL Network Leader Named Teacher of the Year (April 3, 2008)

Centre View North
Michelle Ohanian, a co-chair of the ELL Network Leadership Team and teacher-consultant with the Northern Virginia Writing Project, was named Fairfax County Public Schools 2008 Teacher of the Year. More ›

Writing Project Rewards Teachers for Local Efforts (March 31, 2008)

Pocono Record
Four teachers from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writing Project received awards for their innovative work in the classroom. More ›

Oregon Students Get Busy Writing on Bird Day (March 3, 2008)

Argus Observer
The Oregon Writing Project teamed up with a local elementary school to put on Bird Day, a day devoted to learning about birds—with an emphasis on writing. More ›

NWP Head Links Writing to Community Development (March 3, 2008)

Education Daily
In this interview published in Education Daily, NWP's Executive Director Sharon Washington discusses her professional background and connects the work of the writing project to her passion for helping all young people succeed. More ›

Writing Project Teacher’s Podcast Club Featured on TV (February 26, 2008)

WIVB
Kristen Frawley, Western New York Writing Project teacher-consultant, was featured on a local TV station news story titled "Cool 4 School: West Seneca East Elementary Podcasts" for her work with elementary students on podcasting. More ›

Top Teacher Chronicles Pursuit of National Board Certification (February 17, 2008)

Washington Post Magazine
After a year of intensive study, Emmet Rosenfeld of the Northen Virginia Writing Project missed national certification by 10 points. Rosenfeld is undeterred, however. He aims to reach the highest level of the profession. More ›

Eleven New Sites Added to NWP Network (February 14, 2008)

Eleven new sites have joined NWP's network—helping the NWP move toward a goal of putting a writing project within reach of every teacher. More ›

Elementary School Students Become Published Authors (February 12, 2008)

The Daily News
Michigan elementary school children became published authors thanks to grants from the Belding Area Schools and the Lake Michigan Writing project. More ›

University Inspires Passion for Teaching Writing (February 11, 2008)

The News-Gazette
With a grant from the National Writing Project, the University of Illinois is launching its own writing project site, starting with a monthlong collaborative writing course for about 20 area teachers. More ›

Mississippi Students Take to the Airwaves (February 10, 2008)

Starkville Daily News
Twice a day, the voices of Mississippi's students and teachers hit the airwaves as part of the Mississippi Writing/Thinking Institute's Rural Voices Radio program. More ›

Getting It Just Write (January 20, 2008)

The Washington Times
In an age of high-tech communications and declining newspaper sales, it may seem as if good writing is a thing of the past. But Richard Sterling, executive director emeritus of the National Writing Project, says cutting-edge technology—contrary to what some might think—has only improved writing. More ›

Putting the “Quality” into Professional Development (January 8, 2008)

The NWP is hosting a forum on Capitol Hill to explore what kinds of professional support are successful in retaining teachers, benefiting students, and improving the larger educational landscape. More ›

Bridging Gaps, Telling Stories (December 5, 2007)

Ancestry Magazine
Motivated by a coworker's loss of her grandmother, Cathie English of the Nebraska Writing Project started the Aurora High School Oral History Project, teaching her students the valuable art of chronicling life stories. More ›

Writing Project Site Hosts Classroom Technology Conference (November 15, 2007)

The New Paltz Oracle
The Hudson Valley Writing Project hosted a conference called "Beyond the Web: Connecting to the World," focusing on the use of blogs, wikis, and digital storytelling in the classroom. More ›

Putting the “Author” in “Authority” (November 2, 2007)

Eureka Reporter
In this issue of his monthly column for the Eureka Reporter, Bob Sizoo of the Redwood Writing Project tells how he inspires students by revealing that they can gain authority over their lives through writing. More ›

New Thinking on Staff Development (October 25, 2007)

Teacher Magazine
The success of the National Writing Project model is noted in this article from Teacher Magazine that discusses how ideas about what makes high-quality professional development have changed over the years. More ›

Heartland Teacher Named 'Teacher of Excellence' (May 29, 2007)

York News-Times
Sharon Bishop, co-director of the Nebraska Writing Project, was named the 2006 NCTE NELAC Teacher of Excellence, adding another award to her distinguished career. More ›

Images Help Focus Young Writers (May 6, 2007)

Central Maine Morning Sentinel
Organized by teachers in the Maine Writing Project, the Digital Storytelling Festival allowed students to use multimedia presentations to tell their own stories. More ›

Cochran, Rockefeller Introduce National Writing Project Act (March 29, 2007)

American Chronicle
Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced legislation to reauthorize a program focused on improving writing education. More ›

Her Class Brings Out Tears, Laughter (February 14, 2007)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Nancy Addy, co-director of the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project, is winning students over with a thought-provoking class that produces powerful writing. More ›

Students Freed to Dabble in Creative Waters (February 2, 2007)

St. Petersburg Times
A writing program at Weightman Middle gives them a fresh approach to the essay portion of Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). More ›

Eight New Sites Added to NWP Network (January 29, 2007)

The National Writing Project welcomes eight new sites into its network this year, a network that now numbers 197 sites and spans 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More ›

Schools Emphasize Writing, Even in Math Class (November 1, 2006)

NPR
More high schools around the country are emphasizing the need for all students to be good writers. In Indianapolis, some math teachers are even integrating lessons about writing into their teaching. More ›

An Interview with Ralph Fletcher: On Boys Writing (October 23, 2006)

EdNews.org
An interview with Ralph Fletcher, who discusses his latest book, Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices. More ›

Report Presents Effective Strategies to Improve Writing (October 1, 2006)

The Writing Next report analyzes eleven specific teaching techniques that research suggests will help improve the writing abilities of students, grades 4-12. More ›

Teachers Postpone Fun in the Sun to Improve Student Writing (August 2, 2006)

Winston County Journal
Local teachers are spending four weeks studying teaching strategies that improve the way students of all ages write and learn. More ›

Workshop Helps Make Writing More Fun (March 6, 2006)

The Record
In this summer program, students learn that creating videos and slide shows can help them express the things they want to say, making writing more enjoyable in the process. More ›

Six New Sites Added to NWP Network (March 1, 2006)

The National Writing Project welcomes six new sites into its network this year, a network that now numbers 195 sites and spans 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. More ›

Wyoming Writing Project Teacher Speaks to U.S. Senate Committee (February 16, 2006)

Carrie Langston, teacher-leader with the Wyoming Writing Project and a teacher at Chugwater High School in Chugwater, Wyoming, spoke before a U.S. Senate committee on motivating and educating students. More ›

Teacher Quality: Teachers Teaching Teachers (December 22, 2005)

Rethinking Schools
When high school language arts teachers in Portland were asked which professional development programs had the greatest impact on their students' learning, they overwhelmingly named the Portland Writing Project, the Summer Literacy Curriculum Camp, and the Professional Development Days — which were all led by classroom teachers. More ›

House Committee Recommends Continued Funding of NWP (June 9, 2005)

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education approved $56.7 billion in education spending recommendations for the next fiscal year, including $20.34 million for the National Writing Project. More ›

Expanding the Reach of Education Reforms: Scaling Up and Scaling Down (October 15, 2004)

NWP contributed a chapter to Expanding the Reach of Education Reforms, a new book from the RAND Corporation featuring education reform programs that have supported successful scale-up efforts. More ›

Writing: A Ticket to Work . . . Or a Ticket Out (September 1, 2004)

In its second landmark report, the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges, calls writing a "threshold skill" for salaried employment and promotion. More ›

Quarterly Article Wins SNAP Award (June 18, 2004)

"Tolerating Intolerance: Resisting the Urge to Silence Student Opinion in the Writing Classroom," published in the Winter 2003 issue of The Quarterly, was honored at the Society of National Association Publications (SNAP) EXCEL Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. More ›

Testimony to House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (March 23, 2004)

NWP Executive Director Richard Sterling and Barbara Simons Smith, a teacher-consultant with the National Writing Project at Kent State University, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education on the importance of a continued federal investment in the National Writing Project. More ›

National Commission on Writing Honors Senators Byrd and Cochran (February 1, 2004)

Senators Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Thad Cochran (R-MS), both long-time supporters of the National Writing Project, were honored by a national commission in January 2004 for their extraordinary support of the teaching of writing. More ›

National Writing Project Statement on the 2002 NAEP Writing Report (September 1, 2003)

Results from the 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Writing give cause for guarded optimism. Average writing scores for fourth- and eighth-graders increased between 1998 and 2002, while scores for twelfth-graders remained about the same. In addition, student exposure to many of the teaching and learning strategies fostered by NWP sites correlated with higher average scores on the NAEP. More ›

Students Make Their Case in Colorado ()

Edutopia
While their fellow students in schools around the country hunkered down over traditional final exams, ninth-graders at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, took part in a spirited year-end conversation about literature, technology, and civil liberties. More ›

Students Stretch Imaginations at Missouri Writing Project's Workshop ()

Columbia Daily Tribune
The Missouri Writing Project gives 35 students the chance to work in depth on specific writing skills at their elementary writing workshop conference. More ›

Baltimore's Youth Dreamers, Inc. Selected to Receive Youth Action Grant ()

A cadre of Baltimore middle school students and their teacher, Maryland Writing Project teacher-consultant Kristina Berdan, dreamed that they could help their urban neighborhood with a house where young kids could be mentored and participate in fun activities—and they made that dream a reality. Now a special grant will keep the house and its programs running through 2012. More ›

National Writing Project and Google Team Up for Students’ Writing ()

College Board Connection
NWP Executive Director Sharon J. Washington discusses students' concerns for the world as demonstrated by their participation in the Letters to the Next President project. More ›