Endless Mountains Writing Project Receives Grant to Fund New Writing Program for Teachers

MANSFIELD, PA—The Endless Mountains Writing Project (EMWP) at Mansfield University has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the National Writing Project (NWP) toEMWP host an Invitational Leadership Institute (ILI) for teachers in the region.

Certified teachers of all disciplines and grade levels who want to learn more about the teaching of writing urged to apply. All materials will be provided, and teachers who are selected to participate will receive a stipend upon successful program completion.

Several factors make the ILI unique.   The “It Takes Two” formatting is designed to accommodate the busy schedules of teachers. The institute will meet two Saturdays in the fall of 2016 (September 10, November 12), two Saturdays in the spring of 2017 (February18, April 1), and for two weeks in the summer of 2017 (Monday-Friday, July 10-21).  All meetings will run from 9a.m.-3 p.m.

In addition, a strong element of the ILI will be the National Writing Project’s College Ready Writers Program (CRWP). Independent researchers at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) have found that this program, when implemented with fidelity, has a positive, statistically significant effect on the four aspects of student argument writing; content, structure, stance, and conventions.

Lastly, this program is being facilitated by a team of classroom teachers from a number of different school districts. It is conveniently-scheduled, research-based, and classroom-tested.

For more information and a downloadable application, click here.

Since 2005, the Department of Education and Special Education at MU has been the regional home for the NWP. MU’s site, the EMWP, is one of more than 200 across the U.S. Federally-funded, this grant-based initiative is focused on improving the teaching of writing. EMWP develops teacher leaders and provide professional development in the areas of writing and literacy.

For more information, click here or email nwernerb@mansfield.edu