 The
National Writing Project—180 Sites . . . & Growing
by Joan
Baum, Ph.D.
Speaking
of standards—a standard for teaching writing seems to be emerging
in the crowded field of national, regional and local professional
development programs, if longevity, numbers of participants
and funding resources set criteria. The National Writing Project
(NWP), a 30-year endeavor to promote, disseminate and evaluate
best practices, with special attention to local area needs,
is finally becoming the visible mover and shaker it deserves
to be because of its mission and record of accomplishment.
Working quietly but consistently over the years, this remarkable
venture—the largest in-service, cost-effective training project
of its kind in the country—has, since 1994, under its focused,
energetic, charming and politically savvy executive director,
Dr. Richard Sterling, been garnering support from government
and foundations to advance its goal of putting writing “at
the center of school reform,” K through high school. The recent
report from the National Commission on Writing in America’s
Schools and Colleges which found that “The Neglected R” is
being addressed by the separate states with such uneven diversity
as to make desirable policies difficult to administer and implement
only encourages Richard Sterling to expand and communicate
NWP initiatives—but don’t look to the dynamic director who
values careful research to allow speed to overwhelm efficiency.
Of
course, many established education organizations and associations
claim to be in the forefront of writing reform, and Sterling
generously applauds their work, but what makes NWP stand out,
he believes, is its integrated networking system—a judiciously
conceived, tested, revised and evaluated structure that encourages
democratic participation and appeals to a sense of entrepreneurship
by providing communities with a cadre of trained teachers who
can be hired to train others in district schools. The NPW process
is like a relay race, where a torch ignited by a lead runner
is passed down the line. Some lines run through urban districts,
others rural, and all lines connect with sites that are increasingly
aware of the needs of English language learners. At the heart
of the NWP idea is the small-group summer institute where participants
present theories, models, research, classroom practices and
evaluation instruments for discussion and analysis—how to teach
writing in classrooms where 6 or 7 first languages other than
English are spoken, for example. Recently, Sterling points
out, an interactive component has been added to NWP to prompt
electronic conversations among the teachers with common interests
and concerns.
With
its time-tested institute model of pairs of writing experts—a
college teacher collaborating with a teacher from K-12—training
teachers to become trainers themselves, NPW seems particularly
suited to guide and help
Education
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