NWIWP has trained the best teachers in the Region to become Teacher/Consultants, capable of providing informative and exciting staff-development workshops in K-12 Language Arts. These programs cover recent trends as well as methods that research has proven effective for over the past quarter century.
One of the hallmarks of the NWIWP is its annual Summer Invitational Institute, an intensive four-week journey through the latest in writing pedagogy. Open to teachers k-16 in all disciplines, the Summer Institute provides six graduate credits through Purdue University Calumet, three in English and three in Education. Click here for more information about the Summer Institute. Depending on your school’s or system’s needs, workshops range from a single 90 minute session to a 45 hour professional Workshop Series for which teachers may receive graduate credit. See our Programs page for more detailed information on the types of in-service programs we offer.
Becoming a participating member comes with perks. Once again, this year we are requesting only a single fee of $1025, which will cover not just a single teacher but up to three (3) teachers accepted to the Summer Institute from your school/district, and which covers the school year continuity programs as well as the Advanced Institute. However, this fee will not be voided if your district does not have any teachers selected to attend the summer program. While this change will cost you far less money, it will provide NWIWP with greater financial stability in matching our grants. Because the Summer Institute provides six graduate credits (three in English and three in Education), $1050 is a wonderful value for teachers and schools.
WHAT DOES THE $1050 PARTICIPATION FEE COVER?
Summer Institute: Up to three teachers from a participating/committed district can attend our 4-week Summer Invitational Institute. There is no cost to the teachers, and upon completion of the Institute participants will receive six graduate credits from Purdue University.
Advanced Institute: Any number of teachers (NWIWP affiliation is not required) from a participating/committed district can attend our Advanced Institute at no cost, which is a one-day literacy conference featuring concurrent sessions and a keynote speaker at lunch. Keynote speakers from previous years include author David Gutterson, Indiana author Cathy Day, Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, children’s author Jim Aylesworth, and former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Suellen Reed.
Continuity Programs: Any number of teachers (NWIWP affiliation is not required) and students from a participating/committed district can attend our continuity programs at no cost. Examples of previous continuity programs include nationally-recognized literacy speaker Barry Lane, a performance by Poetry Alive!, an evening with naturalist and author Sy Montgomery, a murder-mystery retreat featuring mystery writer Vicki Stiefel, and the Holocaust play Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project.
Note: Please sign and fax/send the School Commitment Letter by December 10, 2010. We need your support to continue to offer high-quality professional development to your teachers!
I have a new awareness of how important it is that I write...I know that I’ll feel less judgmental of my students’ efforts to write as a result of the project, too.
This has been one of the most worthwhile educational processes in which I have ever been privileged to participate and I look forward to continuing my association with the Northwest Indiana Writing Project in the future. I’m changing as a learner every day. I have a wealth of ideas to try...My revision skills have been sharpened and now my revision time is being spent more on ideas than mechanics. You have inspired many of us to become the kinds of teachers we always wanted to be. You have given the children of Northwest Indiana a precious gift. I’m ready to skip summer and get back to school. My fear of poetry no longer exists. I see poetry in a different light now.I honestly learned more from teacher demonstrations than from anything else.... This is the first education class that has been applicable....I am overwhelmed by the creativity and variety in this classroom. I am gaining invaluable experience at such an early stage of my teaching career. This is the first college education class I have taken that taught me something on a daily basis...This class taught me how to use common sense ideas in a practical manner. Results, not just theories. ...I feel that I have gained confidence with my own writing. It was one of the most remarkable classes that I have ever experienced. It was an incredible journey. I am very fortunate to have been chosen to participate in such a wonderful project. I’m most grateful for the wealth of ideas I will use in my classroom. The Northwest Indiana Writing Project helped me redesign my writing program. My students benefited from these changes by gaining confidence in their abilities. The Northwest Indiana Writing Project gave me the confidence that I could trust myself, that I could take educational risks.