National Writing
Project in Vermont E-Newsletter
ÒWe are teachers who
believe in the power of writing.Ó
December 2007
Upcoming Events
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February 2nd Saturday Special: Reading/Writing
Connections
Updates
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2007 TCs Sponsor Poetry Slam in Montpelier
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Recruitment Continues for the 13th Annual Invitational Summer
Institute
á
Rural Sites Network offers fellowships for teachers of the
Holocaust
á
Rural Sites Network offers fellowships for their Resource
Development Retreat
People
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NWP-VT Alum in Educational Leadership
February 2nd Saturday Special:
Reading/Writing Connections
This
workshop explores the natural link between reading and writing so come join us
from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on February 2nd, 427A Waterman, UVM. WeÕll use
texts to model and adapt writing forms and processes across grades and subject
areas. There is a $45 fee that includes coffee, pastries, and lunch. Visit http://www.nwpvt.org to register and for more information about this Saturday
Special and upcoming Specials (ÒWriting in Math and Science ClassesÓ on March
15).
Study Groups in Action
Last
month we mentioned that during this academic year five schools across the state
are running study groups as part of a three-year collaboration with NWP-VT.
This project is funded by a grant from NWP Rural Sites Network (see ÒOpportunitiesÓ for fellowships you can apply for
through the RSN). Four of the groups meeting this fall are new to the program.
WeÕre excited to watch the Study Group movement pick up steam!
Joyce
Sheehey is coordinating the Study Group program, and each group is led by one
or two NWP Teacher Consultants. The enthusiastic leaders in the four new
participating schools are:
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Ellen
Temple at Camels Hump Middle School
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Pat
King and Katie LeFrancois at Smilie Elementary in Bolton
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Erin
McGuire at Colchester High School
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Lisa
Italiano at Orchard School in South Burlington
Returning
for a second year as a Study Group leader is Victoria Taylor Smith,
facilitating a cross-district group in Washington West; the group expanded this
year from eight participants to nineteen.
Thom
McAllister will soon begin exploring the process of setting up a Study Group
with teachers from Hinesburg Elementary School.
NWP sites
have forged and documented several successful forms of this model, which these
groups will be able to draw from. WeÕre encouraged that this work corresponds
to and springs from NWP principles, such as those noted in the October 25th
Teacher Magazine
article that features NWP as a program that shows success in changing classroom
practice, suggesting that
¥Effective
professional development programs provide frequent and ongoing opportunities
for teachers to write and to examine theory, research, and practice together
systematically.
¥Teachers who are well
informed and effective in their practice can be successful teachers of other
teachers as well as partners in educational research, development, and
implementation.
¥A reflective and
informed community of practice is in the best position to design and develop
comprehensive writing programs
http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2007/10/25/01research.h01.html
2007 TCs Sponsor Poetry Slam in Montpelier
November 20 found MontpelierÕs Langdon Street CafŽ rocking with a
two hour, all-ages poetry slam that featured 21 slammers, a true blending of
the generations with a standing-room-only audience, 100 strong, that roundly
booed and cheered as the five judges scored each three-minute performance. Top
prize went to Samantha Kolber, a Montpelier resident who has become an
experienced slammer and slammaster. NWPÕs own Newton Baker tied for second
place with Baily Crawford, a student at Milton High School and one of VermontÕs
most talented slammers.
Assisting at the event were 2007 alums of the Summer Institute:
Lisa Italiano, Bout Manager; Peggy Laro, Judgefinder; and Tim Dobson,
Score/Time Keeper. NWP-VT Co-director Geof Hewitt served as slammaster for the
evening.
Recruitment
Continues for the 13th Annual Invitational Summer Institute
Thanks to
the many NWP-VT teacher consultants who have nominated successful colleagues
for the 13th Invitational Summer Institute. Nominees will receive
letters informing them of their colleaguesÕ recommendations, along with
information about how to apply.
Successful
recruitment of summer fellows continues to depend largely upon your efforts. If
you have not yet had the chance to nominate a talented colleague, there is
still time. Please take a moment today to forward nomineesÕ names and addresses
(both U.S. mail and email) to summerinstitute@nwpvt.org.
Teachers
interested in the summer institute can learn more about this opportunity and
transmit their applications online.
Simply visit http://nwpvt.org/apply.htm and click on the application form
link at the bottom of the page.
As a
reminder, the Summer Institute begins with a two-day orientation retreat on May
16 & 17, and the summer session runs for four 4-day weeks, from July 7 -
July 31. In addition, all fellows
attend two follow-up sessions on September 26 - 27. Fellows
receive six graduate credits in Education or English and a stipend of $600.
Applications are now being accepted, with a preferred deadline of March 1.
Need inspiration? Want to
encourage a colleague to apply? Read what 2007 Summer Fellows say about their
Summer Institute:
Erin McGuire, a social studies
teacher at Colchester High School says:
The NWP Summer Institute was far more valuable
than any other professional development I have experienced: personally and
professionally challenging, collaborative, engaging, and best of all,
fun. It is hard to adequately express just how powerful and
inspiring this experience was–– I am already seeing the impact in
my classroom.
Lisa H.
Italiano, a Reading Recovery¨ Teacher Leader at
Orchard
Elementary School in South Burlington, says:
Like
Reading Recovery¨ work, this is an ongoing community of learners based on a
social constructivist theory of learning with intense rigor, academic
excellence and room for being human. Hurrah!
Julie Pidgeon, a 7th
and 8th grade teacher at the Folsom School, says:
It was transforming. I am thinking
about my teaching in new ways and now have a strong network to draw from. What
I loved about the summer institute was its focus on teachers as the source
of their own learning. NWP-VT does not preach about six steps to success and
paper us with programs and handouts; instead, it teaches by having its teachers
do what we are asking our students to do.
Ed Lewis,
a 5th and 6th grade teacher at the Cabot School, says:
I was exposed to a diverse yet focused collection of
practices used in writing instruction across content and grade levels in a longer,
more intense immersion than any I have had. There was a balance of
seriousness with humor, creativity with precision, knowledge with questioning,
reading with writing, and being a learner with being a teacher. I had a
total workout.
I was exposed to a diverse yet
focused collection of practices used in writing instruction across content
and grade levels in a longer, more intense immersion than any I have
had. There was a balance of seriousness with humor, creativity with
precision, knowledge with questioning, reading with writing, and being a
learner with being a teacher. I had a total workout. Ed Lewis,
Grades 5 & 6 Teacher, Cabot School
Rural Sites Network
offers fellowships for teachers of the Holocaust
Teacher-consultants who teach the Holocaust or Holocaust
literature are welcome to apply for the Summer Session the Rural Sites Network
(RSN) is hosting in partnership with the The Holocaust Educators Network. There are 20 fellowships available for
NWP TCs to attend the Memorial
Library Summer Seminar on Holocaust Education in New York City, July 7 -19,
2008 (click on the link for more information).
Applications must be postmarked by January 20, 2008, so donÕt
waste any time!
Rural Sites Network offers fellowships for
their Resource Development Retreat
Also, applications are being accepted for the RSN's Resource Development
Retreat, to be held in Nebraska City, Nebraska from July 25-28 this summer
(click on the link for more information). Participants will work on crafting
resources relating to successful NWP work in rural settings.
Applications must be postmarked by January 25, 2008. Teams of two
are particularly welcome. Please apply and share your rural site experiences!
NWP-VT Alum in Educational Leadership
Nancy
King Mildrum (NWP-VT Õ96) participated in a NWP Vignette Study with several
other NWP Teacher Consultants from across the network. Nancy writes of her work
with gifted children, and the processes and strategies that can be made
available to all students. NancyÕs work and othersÕ is noted in the September
issue of Educational Leadership:
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/download/nwp_file/9031/el200709_lieberman.pdf?x-r=pcfile_d
Cindy
Faughnan (NWP-VT Õ03) received her MFA from Vermont
College this past summer. Cindy also arranged for her graduating class to
earmark part of their class gift to the NWP in Vermont. Congratulations and
thank you Cindy!
Contact UsÉ
Visit our website at http://www.nwpvt.org.
Address: 201 Mann Hall, 208 Colchester Ave., UVM, Burlington, VT
05405
Telephone: (802)656-3935
Email: sitedirector@nwpvt.org
Director: Patricia McGonegal