Purpose

The National Writing Project is a nonprofit educational organization that supports programs to train classroom teachers to teach writing effectively to their students. This program supports the expansion and continued activities of the National Writing Project and the dissemination of effective professional development practices.

How It Works

This is a noncompetitive grant award to the National Writing Project, which is an educational organization that contracts with institutions of higher education and other nonprofit organizations to provide professional development activities to teachers, educating them in how to effectively teach writing to students. The professional development activities that are supported through the National Writing Project train teachers in all disciplines from kindergarten to college, and are conducted during the school year and summer months. The National Writing Project sites also maintain a network of teachers who provide professional development training in writing for their colleagues.

Key Requirements

The National Writing Project must enter into contracts with institutions of higher education and nonprofit education providers that will establish and operate programs that train teachers to teach writing effectively. The program also must establish a national advisory board to advise it on issues related to student writing and teaching writing. In addition, the program must establish a National Review Board to review and recommend applications for assistance.

How It Achieves Quality

The National Writing Project must ensure high quality within the local sites that are funded through ongoing review, evaluation, and technical assistance. The program also supports and promotes local sites' dissemination of effective practices and researchers' findings on teaching writing.

How Quality Is Measured

Quality will be measured through an independent evaluation of the teacher training programs funded through the National Writing Project. The evaluation will be conducted by the secretary of education.