The South Carolina Council of Teachers of English conference will be held from Friday, January 29th through Saturday, January 30th at Kiawah Island Resort. This year's focus is "Reaching for New Horizons in Literacy." For more information, consult the following website: http://www.ed.sc.edu/mwp/pdf_2009/Save%20the%20Date%20Flyer-%20FINAL.pdf

EDTE 501--Teachers as Writers, June 7th-17th: This graduate-level course recognizes that teachers of writing must write. Research shows teachers’ instruction of writing improves through practice and study of the craft. Writing instruction will incorporate time for the development, critique, and revision of multiple products with an emphasis on improving the personal understanding of what it is to be a writer. This course integrates the use of technology in the publication of the participants’ products.

Interested educators in all levels and disciplines should apply; email CreechR@sumter17.k12.sc.us for more information and an application.

Saturday, October 24th: The first meeting of the SWWP Book Club will be held from 2:30-3:30 at Baker's Sweets in Sumter. The text to be discussed is Can We Talk About Race? RSVP to Jennifer Wilson at jlwilson@mailbox.sc.edu.

The newly released and greatly anticipated Obama Administration budget recommends level funding for the National Writing Project in fiscal year 2010. At a time of scrutiny and difficult choices, this recommendation is a tribute to the work of local sites, to dedicated leadership, and to high-quality programs. While the need to educate policymakers is ongoing and the final budget is still to be decided, please take this moment to be justifiably proud of the National Writing Project and of the extraordinary efforts of every site and every individual. Read more about the President's budget at the link below; Office of Innovation and Improvement budget on p. 364 includes NWP funding.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2010/assets/edu.pdf#page=6

CONTRIBUTE TO NWP RESEARCH ARCHIVES -- NWP's Research and Evaluation Unit maintains a searchable archive of empirical research conducted on writing project activities in writing project settings. Currently there are over 250 pieces of research in the archive, which is available to site leaders, TCs, and others to assist with strategic planning, resource development, and program planning, as well as local research. We hope to add any research you may be aware of, including articles, dissertations, book chapters, research reports, and the like. Please contact Paul LeMahieu at plem@nwp.org about potential additions to the NWP Research Archive.