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Massachusetts Sites Increase Statewide Visibility
Date: February 25, 2009
Summary: Seeking to establish a statewide presence in professional development, the Massachusetts Writing Project, a network of three sites currently serving the entire state of Massachusetts, presented its first statewide conference in 2007.
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"It was one thing to share resources and ideas and talk about ways we could work together," said Massachusetts Writing Project coordinator Susan Connell Biggs, "but until we began to do work together, we didn't truly realize the possibilities and power of being a state network."
The "we" Connell Biggs refers to are the three writing project sites in Massachusetts that form the state network, the Massachusetts Writing Project (MWP)—the Boston Writing Project, the Buzzard's Bay Writing Project, and the Western Massachusetts Writing Project (the Central Massachusetts Writing Project, which has since closed, was also part of this initial cadre). Doing work together truly began in planning and hosting a statewide conference for more than 100 teachers in 2007.
Funded partially by an NWP State and Regional Networks minigrant, this cross-site collaboration served not only to increase the network's visibility among teachers and state department of education officials, but also to forge a common identity and purpose among teacher-consultants from the MWP sites.
Because Writing Matters: The Network's Debut
Each individual site had experience presenting "best practices" at conferences, but the stakes were much higher here: "Because Writing Matters," as the MWP conference was called, was, in a sense, the network's debut—so it had to be good to enhance the sites' visibility in the state.
Until we began to do work together, we didn't truly realize the possibilities and power of being a state network.
A committee met throughout the year to plan a program, laying the groundwork through a collaborative exploration of MWP's identity, audience, and purpose. With a first-year goal of 100 participants, the committee developed five strands of workshops: English Language Learners, Teaching with Technology, Teacher Research, Responding to Student Writing, and Family Literacy. Each site nominated teacher-consultants who could present workshops on these topics.
Sonia Nieto, author of The Light in Their Eyes and Why We Teach, agreed to be keynote speaker (read NWP's profile of Nieto, who spoke at the 2008 Spring Meeting). Kit Dunlap of Buzzards Bay Writing Project organized a writing marathon. A local bookstore prepared a sales table, and the leadership team gathered materials for a writing project display.
The planning committee also negotiated with a hotel, created publicity materials, coached presenters, registered participants, and more.
"We had never worked together on such a challenging project before, but we drew on each other's strengths," said Bruce Penniman of Western Massachusetts WP, current co-coordinator of MWP and member of the State and Regional Networks Leadership Team.
Getting the word out on a small budget was a major concern. To underscore the professionalism of MWP, the committee opted for high-quality materials in color on glossy paper, though that meant limiting the mailing list.
To limit expenses, each site sent the brochure to its own mailing list via email. Paper copies were mailed to schools using addresses obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Education (MDOE). The committee also placed ads in the Massachusetts Teachers Association's newsletter.
In the end, more than 100 teachers attended, and they rated the program a success, especially the workshops by teacher-consultants. "For a first conference, it was a great accomplishment," said Dunlap.
Building Network Capacity for Collaborative Work
NWP sites in Massachusetts had been building network capacity to host the conference over time.
The state network began as most networks do—by sharing site programs, mentoring new leaders, and exploring possible joint projects. At the same time that MWP was planning for joint projects, NWP was expanding its support for sites to increase their capacity for inservice and partnerships. State networks of sites followed suit and began to focus on developing inservice programs that would address state needs and urgencies.
That meant engaging with state education departments, particularly on NCLB initiatives. MWP took this work to heart: network leaders met with MDOE staff, invited them to visit invitational summer institutes, and eventually landed a contract to develop a reading/writing-across-the-curriculum inservice series to accompany the MDOE's interactive website on open response.
Developing the workshop series built inservice capacity at all sites, engaged them in joint work, and established a partnership with MDOE staff. With this project MWP began to feel like a true network, one that was ready to "go public" statewide.
Between 2005 and 2007, the MWP leadership team
focused on three major projects designed to increase
network visibility: creating marketing materials,
developing an MWP
website 
, and launching an annual conference
highlighting the expertise of teacher-consultants.
Presence in State Continues to Grow
Developing an identity and launching a successful conference have given MWP the tools and the exposure to establish a statewide presence. The MDOE now regularly contacts MWP when it seeks teacher participation in literacy initiatives or posts RFPs for professional development institutes.
Collaborating on productive projects has built trust and capacity within the network and given its members the confidence to seek a wider role in the state education system. The state network held a statewide visioning retreat and decided to turn to other ways of establishing a statewide presence this year, including especially beefing up our website and connecting with the state legislature.
MWP has now established an Inservice Committee, which is developing the network's capacity to offer MDOE-funded institutes and pursue other grants. There is also a Public Relations Committee, which is making plans to visit Massachusetts legislators to make them aware of the work of MWP in hopes of restoring state support.
"None of these projects could be happening without the experience we have gained from working together," said Penniman.
