Storrs, CT, July 17, 2014 —The Connecticut Writing Project-Storrs has been awarded two federal grants through the National Writing Project. These grants, totaling $40,000, will help fund writing education for Connecticut teachers and further the Writing Project’s mission to improve writing and learning.
The 2014-15 Professional Development in a High-Need School Grant ($20,000) will support the design and delivery of a customized, intensive professional development program in a school where at least 50 percent of the students qualify for reduced or free lunch. The 2014-2016 Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) Teacher Leadership Development Grant ($20,000) will expand and develop teacher leadership to improve the teaching of writing and learning.
The High-Need School grant will be used in partnership with teachers at Metropolitan Business Academy in New Haven. Teacher-Consultants from the Connecticut Writing Project-Storrs and English and Social Studies teachers from Metro have been working together for the past two years to align practices in the teaching of writing with college-level standards and expectations, and recently have been working to convert senior English courses to college credit-bearing courses. In the near future, all senior year students at Metro will be able to take UConn Early College Experience English, which aligns with UConn’s First Year Writing courses, or a course that will align with a community college Developmental or Introductory Composition course. The new grant will in part provide mini-grants to teachers at Metro from all disciplines to conduct research in how to improve the teaching of writing in their content area to better prepare all students for college-level writing.
The Teacher Leadership grant will cover a two year period and will provide funds for established Teacher-Leaders of the Connecticut Writing Project to run programs such as Connecticut Student Writers magazine, and it will provide research mini-grants to all new teachers participating in the CWP-Storrs Invitational Summer Institutes in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Any teacher from any discipline or grade level (pre-K through college) may apply to attend a Summer Institute. Fellowships from the Aetna Endowed Chair of Writing will be awarded to the most qualified applicants to attend the intensive, four-week institute. The mini-grants from the Teacher Leadership grant will complement these Fellowships and allow teachers to extend their summer research into a year-long inquiry project, the results of which will typically be presented at a local, regional, or national professional conference.
Teachers and administrators interested in becoming involved with the Connecticut Writing Project-Storrs, either through contracted professional development services, youth programs for young writers, or participation in a summer institute, should visit the CWP’s website at www.cwp.uconn.edu, call the office at 860-486-2328, or contact Director Jason Courtmanche at cwp@uconn.edu or jason.courtmanche@uconn.edu.
The Connecticut Writing Project-Storrs has been affiliated with the University of Connecticut since 1982, and is an affiliate of the National Writing Project, which this year celebrates its 40th year of quality professional development for teachers.
For more information, contact: Jason Courtmanche at 860-486-5772, jason.courtmanche@uconn.edu