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UNDERSTANDING THENATIONAL WRITING PROJECT
March 2010
Dr. Mark St. John
Dr. Laura Stokes
Inverness Research
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KEY POINTS
I. THERE IS A NEED FOR HIGH QUALITY PROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENT
II. THE NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT IS A SIGNIFICANTFEDERAL INVESTMENT IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF
TEACHING
II. CONTINUOUS FEDERAL FUNDING IS CRITICAL TO THENWPS ABILITY TO DO ITS FUTURE WORK
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POINT I. THERE IS A NEED FOR
HIGH QUALITY PROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENT
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Research shows that
Good teaching is key to studentlearning
Teacher learning is key to goodteaching
The nations school systems lack thecapacity to provide good professionaldevelopment for all teachers
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Conclusion from 2009
international study of professionaldevelopment
Given what we know about the current lack ofcapacity and infrastructure of many school
organizations to provide the kinds of powerfullearning opportunities that teachers need to supportstudent learning, the question that remains is this how can states, districts, and schools build theircapacities to provide the kinds of high-qualityprofessional development that is effective in building
teacher knowledge, improving their instruction, andsupporting student learning?
From: Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report onTeacher Development in the U.S. and Abroad (p. 62). Wei, et al., National StaffDevelopment Council (2009)
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POINT IITHE NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT ISA SIGNIFICANT FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN THE
IMPROVEMENT OF TEACHING WRITING
A. The National Writing Project is the largest scale and longest-standingteacher development program in U.S. history.
B. The NWP is not just another professional development project. It is
a national infrastructure of over 200 linked sites that span all 50states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. VirginIslands.
C. Federal funding of the NWP is not just another annual expenditure.It is an investment that is cost efficient and generates ever-expanding
capacity to serve teachers.
D. The federal investment in the NWP infrastructure produces highquality programs that lead to large-scale improvements in theteaching and learning of writing.
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A. The NWP is the largestand longest-standingteacher development
program in U.S. history
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Since its beginning as one site in
1974, the NWP has expanded its
capacity to national scale
In 2010, NWP has 126 sites that are 10
years old or older.
80,000 - 100,000 individual teachers
served annually
35 years of cumulative service and
impact
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B. The NWP is not just anotherprofessional developmentproject.
It is a national infrastructurecomposed of over 200 linked sitesthat span all 50 states, the Districtof Columbia, Puerto Rico, and theU.S. Virgin Islands.
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By infrastructure, we mean a foundational
system that literally empowers the daily
work of millions of people.
Everyday exampleselectrical grid, air traffic
systems, roads and highways
Strong central capacity supports customized
local services
Broad and equitable access
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Across the network, 79% of all public
school teachers are within 50 miles of a
Writing Project site.
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C. Federal funding of the NWP is
not just another annualexpenditure.
It is an investment that is costefficientand
generates ever-expanding capacityto serve teachers.
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The NWP investment is
highly cost efficient
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Through effective leveraging, the
federal investment is nearly doubled by
university, state, and local school funds
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The NWP generates working capital
for the nations education system
NWP National NetworkFederal $
University andstate $
Activities reach 80-100,000 individual teachersLocal schoolsystem $
Over 200 local NWP sites,
all school-university partnerships
7,000 active teacher consultants
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D. NWP infrastructure produceshigh quality programs that lead tolarge-scale improvements in
teaching and learning.
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(Source: Survey of summer institute participants 2009)
96% of teachers at NWP institutes say
NWP is better than other professional
development.
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
"Much better"
80.9%
"Better" 15.0%
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85.4% 86.1%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
L ngu g A / n h D p n
(Source: Survey of summer institute participants 2009)
Th WP h n b d m o h w d ng of ud n mo ff v y.
NWP institutes are equally effective
for teachers of all content areas.
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NWP institutes help teachers of all grade
levels improve their teaching.
89. 84.9% 84.2%73. %
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
5 6 8 9 12 e e
(Source: Survey of summer institute participants 2009)
The WP has enab ed me t teach a wider ran e f studentsm re effective y.
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96% of teachers at NWP institutes say
that what they learn translates into
improved writing skills for their students.
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
" grea dea
will tra slate"
74.3%
" lot" 21.7%
(Source: Survey of summer institute participants 2009)
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POINT IIIFEDERAL FUNDING
REMAINS CRITICAL TO THENWPS ABILITY TO DO FUTURE WORK
A. Federal funding enables the infrastructure to function.
B. The NWP is already the kind of large-scale, effective programthat the DOE wants to support.
A discontinuity in federal funding could put the entire
infrastructure, built over 30 years, at risk.
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A. FEDERAL FUNDING ENABLES THENATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE TOFUNCTION
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Think of infrastructure as a woven
cloth
The power of the infrastructure is in its unitary, coherent, whole
interconnected nature.
It is important to support the whole cloth, not some disconnected
threads
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Federal funding enables the
infrastructure to function, grow and
improve
Core support for local sites
-Growing teacher leadership capacity
-Grants for innovation
Core support for national office
-Annual site review
-Research and evaluation
Support for the connectivity and mutually supportiveinteractions among all levels
-Publication and dissemination
-Sub-networks and special initiatives
Support for growth and improvement
-Technical assistance
-Professional development for directors
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People count on an infrastructure to
provide reliable, high quality service
States, districts, schools, teachers and students
are counting on NWP capacity that is available
right now
More than 200 fully functional writing project sites
across the country
Over 700 experienced site directors and co-directors in
place, each with an average of 6 years of experience
Thousands of teacher-consultants providing support to
their colleagues
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B. The NWP is already the kind oflarge-scale, effective program thatthe DOE wants to support.
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NWP has 30 years of research and
evidence
At a national scale and continuing to grow
A proven model for building teacher leadership
Serves tens of thousands of teachers and students
every year Cost efficient
Meets local needs and adapts to local contexts
Supports and spreads innovation locally andnationally
A portfolio of research and evaluation studiesshowing indirect and direct contributions to studentimprovement in writing
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A connected network that is a
national infrastructure
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A discontinuity in federal funding could putthe entire infrastructure, built over 30 years,at risk.