Writing Showcase
NWP-A Leadership Team Members Dr. H. Michelle Kreamer, Megan Breaux, and Dr. Toby Daspit were published in the National Council of Teachers of English's English Journal!
English Journal is NCTE’s award-winning journal of ideas for English language arts teachers in junior and senior high schools and middle schools. It presents information on the teaching of writing and reading, literature, and language, and includes information on how teachers are applying practices, research, and multimodal literacies in their classrooms.
(Published September, November, January, March, May, and July.)
Their journal article is titled
Improving the Blank Page: Cultivating authentic writing in virtual spaces
Kreamer, H. M., Daspit, T., & Breaux, M. (2022). Improving the Blank Page: Cultivating authentic writing in virtual spaces. English Journal, 112(1), 63-70.
Our NWP-A and GEAR UP 2022 BIG EVENT:
Epiphanies Everywhere Book Launch, Showcase, and Celebration took place on March 5th, 2022!
Thank you to everyone who came out to support this event!
We appreciate the support that the book received and are looking forward to future events!
Summer 2021 Publishing Project:
To document the entirety of the LPSS GEAR UP project, IBP deviated from this model in summer 2021, bringing teachers and interns (i.e., GEAR UP alum) together for the entire two-week institute.
Over the course of the institute, a select team of three teachers, eight interns, and four NWP-A leaders, embarked on a publishing project in which creative writing guided the creation of a book of stories.
These stories were gathered from interviewing GEAR UP students, teachers, and project partners and sharing their individual GEAR UP stories through creative means.
In the pages of Epiphanies Everywhere are 43 stories from those involved in LPSS GEAR UP over the course of the seven-year project.
Nikki Broussard
Acadiana High English Teacher
"Fruition"
The sun’s heat battles the fog of a recent shower.
The thunder looming in the distance warning of its return.
The whoosh of AC hits me with a jolt.
My footsteps echo in this quiet corridor,
my mouth suddenly dry,
my heartbeat quickens in my throat,
the beads of sweat drip down my back
encouraging my self-conscious soul.
I grip the cold metal handle.
The room is filled with the eager faces of students in their Senior year.
Their parents look at them,
all the hopes of a family dream weighing heavy in the air.
My hands tremble with anticipation and expectation.
I rush from table to table,
twirling back and forth,
bouncing from question to question.
If this were a ballet,
it would be called the deadline dance.
Can you feel what I’m saying?
It’s the encouraging murmur of a parent who never went to college.
It’s the ethereal glow of a room filled with possibility.
It’s my role to create fruition for futures.
KIRSI MICHAEL
FORMER GEAR UP STUDENT
"NEW PERSPECTIVES"
Different styles and different people
wide openings or narrow stretches
high school friends or college professors
Constantly changing and always fluid.
A sea of inspiration to challenge me
new perspectives foreign to my own
places I never considered
McNeese or Tulane
LA Tech or Northwestern
people I may have never met
Kirsi or
Sophie
all given to me through GEAR UP.
The pictures taken,
the friendships created,
the lasting memories,
all given to me through this program.
I constantly remember these experiences
that allowed me to become a better person
that allowed me to experience the unknown.
Megan lueck
Former gear up student
"their timely exertion"
Too many good people
work behind the curtain
Rearranging and rebuilding
when things are uncertain
They have gone unnoticed
dismissed for far too long
When they are the reason
students can become strong
So from all of us,
thank you.
Festival of Words Student Creative Writing Contest
Students in grades 3-12 from across the Acadiana-area are invited to participate in a writing contest sponsored by the National Writing Project of Acadiana and the Festival of Words.
Students can enter their original writing pieces into four writing categories: poetry, fiction, advertisements, and multimedia.
click logo for FOW website
CLICK EACH STUDENT'S NAME TO WATCH THEIR READING!
Shya Hebert
Nwp-a leadership team member megan breaux's daughter
"mirror, Mirror"
Marriah fergurson
IBP Alumni
"The joyful heart of a friend"
Dr. toby daspit
NWP-a Emeritus Consultant
"Mother's secrets"
"PIECES OF HOPE" SERIES
FESTIVAL OF WORDS AND IMPROVING THE BLANK PAGE SPONSORED VIRTUAL OPEN MIC NIGHT
JANUARY 2, 2021