Thirty-six years ago a group of teachers who were committed to teaching writing and supporting their students’ literacy development gathered at the University of California Berkeley across grade levels to write and talk about writing and about teaching and about learning. They read and responded to research, shared examples of the work they did and questions they had, and wrote and reflected on their practices together. Their gathering was intense – for several hours a day over the course of several weeks – and rigorous – they pushed themselves to really understand what they did and why – and ultimately, personally and professionally transformative.
By learning in community, with peers and about work that mattered and to which they were all highly committed and motivated, they found that they could learn, grow and change as individuals and as teachers. And it was this simple but essential idea that took hold and began to catch on.
And now, this idea happens in over 200 sites across the country every summer and throughout the year. Universities partner with educators in local districts to establish writing project sites. And as practitioners, they gather. And do intense, rigorous and ultimately transformative work together.
There is a great deal of evidence. It works to improve student writing. To support teachers to adapt to change. And it supports teachers to interrogate and innovate their practice (see my previous post A Story Among Many from Digital Is).
And it builds community. Where everyone learns.
Writing projects are vital community hubs, gathering places, and professional centers. They build capacity by matching all dollars one-to-one and by growing leadership among their community while continuing to always take on new members. They negotiate with schools and districts, advocating for quality professional development that their teachers and the schools in which they work value. They build bridges between educators at the University, the community and teachers in schools. They partner with local community groups, engage parents, and generally build bridges inside and outside the classroom. And they connect to the larger national network, thinking across geography and social boundaries to make literacy learning accessible and relevant for all.
The impact is exponential.
Like the Internet, the NWP has become a complex network of relationships, practices, and knowledge thirty-five years later both on and off-line. And like any network the stronger the infrastructure within which this growth can happen, the faster it will continue to develop, connect and thrive.
Please support the National Writing Project and the work of over 100,000 teachers that continues to grow in scope and dimension every year. It works.
Christina
