OUR HISTORY
The National Writing Project of Acadiana (sometimes referred to as the Acadiana Writing Project) was established by an LEQSF grant of $45,000 in 1989. Its founder was Dr. Ann B. Dobie, a Professor of English. Since that time it has been annually reviewed and approved as an affiliate of the National Writing Project, a network of writers and teachers around the world that seeks to improve the teaching of writing at all levels of the educational system, K - University.
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The National Writing Project of Acadiana engages in a variety of activities involving area teachers, students, as well as the public at large. Each summer it conducts a five-week Summer Writing Institute for teachers in the Acadiana parishes and an Advanced Institute for its graduates (called Teacher Consultants). Throughout the school year, it invites them to participate in numerous continuity activities, and other area teachers are provided with staff development workshops led by the Teacher Consultants. In addition, several activities are open to the public.
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GOALS OF The National Writing Project of Acadiana
In April 1999 the National Writing Project of Acadiana held a revisioning conference for the purpose of doing strategic planning and goal setting for the next several years. The conference was led by an outside facilitator, Dr. Sherry Swain, Director of the Mississippi Writing-Thinking Institute. The discussion centered around designing more effective staff development, delivering workshops to more teachers, expanding and developing teacher research projects, documenting and evaluating our work, increasing the diversity of Summer Fellows (reaching more minorities and males), and continuing the work of Project Outreach. Several specific projects have been carried out as a result of establishing goals dealing with serving minority students, evaluating our efforts, improving inservice, and involving parents.
