“What I did on my summer vacation,” is a frequent essay topic at this time of the year. For teachers from five Northwest Arkansas districts, their summer vacation included learning and working together during the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project Curriculum Development Collaborative based at the University of Arkansas.

These teachers were identified as leaders by virtue of leadership roles they have undertaken. They created free educational materials and prepared for professional development they will provide during the 2014-15 school year at no charge to teachers in the region, with a specific focus on opinion and argumentative writing.

The collaborative project awarded fellowships, based on applicants’ instructional expertise and academic excellence, to the five teacher-leaders: Tyler McBride of Greenland School District, Jennifer Penaflorida of Berryville Public Schools, Katie Stueart of Fayetteville Public Schools, Tara Nutt of Bentonville Public Schools and Kendra Schacht of Rogers Public Schools.

This funding from a National Writing Project grant allowed these teachers the opportunity to study the latest research on teaching writing and to create resources for teacher use.

“We are committed to providing teachers with resources and professional learning opportunities that support them as they implement the new Common Core State Standards for writing,” said Vicki Collet, assistant professor at the University of Arkansas who leads the collaborative project.

Resources for teaching opinion and argument writing created by the project are available at tinyurl.com/NWAWP-Argument. Information regarding related professional development, provided at no charge during the 2014-15 school year to schools and districts as a result of the grant, is also available at that site; contact Collet at collet@uark.edu for additional details.

“Teaching and teachers are experiencing considerable challenges and, just recently, a national poll cited that nearly half of all teachers feel unprepared to address the demands of the Common Core State Standards,” said Chris Goering, associate professor of English Education and director of the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project. “Unfortunately, predatory professional development providers and curriculum designers are lining up at the double doors of America’s schools, ready to make an empty dollar before boot-scooting down the road. Many of their presentations will begin with the phrase, ‘when I used to be a teacher.’ What stands out to me about Writing Project work and especially about the work led by Dr. Collet and these five outstanding teacher-leaders is that it is incredibly well-informed by actual classroom practice and research in the field. Combine this balanced approach with the opportunity to experience their presentations at low or no cost this year due to the grant, and this is a no-brainer. Teachers across the region stand to benefit greatly from this work.”

The Northwest Arkansas Writing Project works to develop excellent writing teachers for the sake of students across a nine-county service area in Northwest Arkansas. With the support of the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions and more than 20 national grants since 1997, the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project designs and delivers customized in-service programs for local schools, districts and higher education institutions, and provides an array of continuing education and research opportunities for teachers at all levels.

Judy Buchanan, deputy director of the National Writing Project, pointed out the importance of such experiences.

“Through these opportunities, teachers are better equipped to support their colleagues and to help their students excel in writing across all disciplines,” Buchanan said.

National research studies have shown that professional development programs designed and delivered by National Writing Project sites have a positive effect on the writing achievement of students across grade levels, schools and contexts. To learn more, visit www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3208.

For more than 40 years, the National Writing Project has focused the knowledge, expertise and leadership of the nation's educators on sustained efforts to improve writing and learning. Located on nearly 200 university and college campuses, the National Writing Project works in partnership with K-12 schools, libraries, museums, after-school programs and local Writing Project sites to provide high-quality, sustained professional development for 100,000 teachers a year. Through its programs and partnerships, the organization reaches 1.4 million pre-kindergarten through college-age students in more than 3,000 schools districts annually.