National Writing Project

The National Writing Project is a professional development program for English teachers from kindergarten to college.  NWP teaches teachers how to develop writing skills in their classroom and then sends them out as teacher consultants to other classrooms to further students' education in English studies.  

I was invited to participate in the NWP Summer Institute at the university where I attend graduate school.  I had to apply, go to an interview and then waiting for an invitation to the summer institute, which has always been a 6 hour graduate credit course which NWP pays for.  It's an investment for the NWP--they train teachers who in turn become teacher consultants within the school systems.

Today I received an email that informed me that the NWP had had their federal funding cut in half.  This means they will no longer be able to offer the month long summer institute.  Instead, they will offer an abbreviated summer institute for 3 hours credit.  I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and am very excited to work with my other teachers.  However, NWP did ask if we had any words we would like to share with the policy decision makers in Washington.  This is the letter I sent.

To whom it may concern: 

The benefit of the National Writing Project extends far beyond the teachers who have gone through training with the program.  I have personally benefited from NWP before I ever became a part of it as an educator.  The two most influential professors that I had during my undergraduate work were both NWP teacher consultants.  One served as my advisor during my education as an English teacher in training.  The other served as my boss within the university Writing Center.  Both of these women actively engaged me in discussion revolving around the field of teaching English and the way students learn. 

In my classes with professors affiliated with NWP, I have been encouraged to actively reflect as a learner and teacher and to develop a theoretical approach to pedagogy that illuminates the connections between different genres of life. They exposed me to NWP strategies for learning and making meaning including use of the Daybook, a writing notebook designed to allow writers to get their ideas out in messy, creative, and honest ways and reflect and a tool which I still use for each of my classes today.  I implemented the Daybook within my classroom as a student teacher, and my students were able to reflect on their work throughout the semester and think about their thinking--a skill which is useful no matter what field of study or profession the student may choose to pursue in the future.  

I have seen the discussion NWP prompts not just about current education issues but also about the trajectory of the field of education.   When my undergraduate professors found out I would be attending UNC Charlotte for graduate school, both of them strongly encouraged me to participate in the Summer Institute.  They said that it would be one of the most influential and developmental times in my life as a teacher and a professional.  I was ecstatic to be extended an invitation last week to participate in the Summer Institute at UNCC.  I am very disheartened by the decision of the federal government to cut funding from projects with wide reaching effects such as the National Writing Project.

I ask you to reconsider cutting funding from the National Writing Project and other similarly valuable educational resources.  I'm proud to stand alongside professionals who have a passion for the future of education in our nation and to speak up for something that really matters, not just to us now, but to our futures as teachers and students' futures.

Thank you.