The Northwest Arkansas Writing Project based in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas has been awarded a $20,000 Teacher Leadership Development grant to expand teacher leadership for improving writing instruction in Northwest Arkansas schools. 

Vicki Collet, an assistant professor of childhood education, and Chris Goering, an associate professor of English education, along with Nikki Holland, director of the College Ready Writers Program, will lead the project. Invited fellows will work this summer to design resources for teaching argumentative writing and will organize professional development experiences for sharing these resources with teachers.

“This grant from the National Writing Project is a testament both to the longstanding commitment the College of Education and Health Professions has to the work of the Writing Project and to the vision that Dr. Vicki Collet and Nikki Holland have for this specific project in how it will ultimately help the students of Arkansas through developing teacher leaders,” said Goering, who directs the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project. 

Fellows selected for the 2014 fellowship will form a core leadership team whose mission is to create educational materials and provide professional development opportunities to teachers of writing in our region. 

“By strengthening a core leadership team, this institute will enable the writing project to expand its ability to provide professional development focused on argumentative writing, a key component of the Common Core State Standards,” said Collet, who will lead the team’s work this summer. 

This year, the National Writing Project celebrates its 40^th anniversary as an educational professional development organization. The National Writing Project works in partnership with institutions, organizations and communities to develop and sustain leadership for the improvement of writing instruction.

Local sites work in partnership with area school districts to offer high-quality professional development programs for educators. The local site, started through a grant in 1997 to professor emeritus Samuel Totten, continues to work to develop excellent writing teachers for the sake of students across a nine-county service area in northwest Arkansas. The Northwest Arkansas Writing Project designs and delivers customized in-service programs for local schools, districts and higher education institutions, and it provides an array of continuing education and research opportunities for teachers at all levels.