Kean University’s Inaugural National Writing Project Invitational Summer Institute took place in July 2008. Under the direction of Dr. Linda Best, key Kean faculty and staff—Dr. Mark Sutton, Dr. Gail Verdi, Dr. Charles Nelson, and Instructor Erica Holan—led an intensive and productive four-week program designed to prepare teachers from regional districts for leadership roles through demonstrations of effective practices, research studies, and improvement of their knowledge about writing by becoming writers themselves.
Participants at Kean’s First Annual NWP Institute represented four different school districts and one county college: Marian Hendershot, Jessica Mankowski, Alison Smith, and Darlene Vitoroulis, Keansburg School District; Kristen Turner, Lady Liberty Academic Charter School in Newark; Marsha Garay, Kimberly Kiefer, and Roberta Seaman, Rahway School District; Mary Freet-Everson, Union County College; Musheerah Gill and Debbie Lee, Hillside School District. These individuals are now part of the largest and most effective professional development network for teachers in America; they will take the knowledge and expertise gained in the Institute to their respective schools as part of a nation-wide initiative and commitment to the improvement of student writing, drawing from the extensive resources that the federally funded project provides, including tools, materials, expertise, annual funding, supplemental grants and research initiatives designed to support writing in all subjects and at all learning levels, K-16.
All National Writing Project Sites are required to conduct at least one intensive four-week institute each summer. Each year, thousands of teachers in the United States participate in these programs, expanding the organization’s reach and impact. Kean University, an approved NWP site, will offer Institutes annually, along with other professional development programming, such as in-service, workshops, mentoring, coaching, symposia, and youth camps. For information about services and a free consultation about how NWP can benefit you or your district, contact Linda Best, Kean’s NWP Site Director, at lbest@kean.edu or (908) 737-0377.