The Morehead Writing Project held its third Writing Eastern Kentucky Conference devoted to writing and the teaching of writing Nov. 5 on the campus of Morehead State University. The conference featured Kentucky Poet Laureate Maureen Morehead and Kentucky writer and Publisher Katerina Stoykova-Klemer. MSU writer-in-residence Crystal Wilkinson and MSU faculty George Eklund, Carrie Coaplen, Jared Salyers, and Lee Bessette also presented.
Morehead Writing Project Fellows led sessions offering classroom strategies for teaching writing, including Dusti Moore and Tonia Hunt-Gibson, both of Bath County Middle; Kathy Miller of Hannah McClure Elementary in Clark County; George McKee of EP Ward Elementary and Brandie Trent of Fleming County High; Brandis Carlson of Straub Elementary and Maggie Prater of Mason County High; Tiffany Tomes of McBrayer Elementary in Rowan County; Laura Daniels of Fairview Elementary in Fairview Independent; and Jodi Blackburn of Morehead State University.
The 2011 Morehead Writing Project Summer Institute Fellows also participated in the conference and a roundtable discussion following the conference, including Jessica Craft of Boyd County High School and Tiffany Kirk of Ponderosa Elementary; Kristen Evans of West Carter High; Michael Sammons of Lakeside Elementary in Elliott County; Tom Zuchowski of Southside Technical in Fayette County; Anna Watson of Simons Middle in Fleming County; Lori Kenney of Nicholas County Elementary; Jennifer Cooper of Clearfield Elementary, Ashley Withrow of Tilden Hogge Elementary, Emily Stevens of McBrayer Elementary, and Terry Lewis of Rowan County High; and Morehead State University English instructors Deanna Mascle and Tim Reding.
Sponsored by the Buckner and Sally S. Hinkle Endowment for Humanities; Caudill College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Morehead State University Arts and Humanities Council; and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Morehead State Public Radio.
Check out the conference photo album.
The roundtable facilitators were Reding, Wilson, Withrow, Cooper, Stevens, and Tomes. The roundtable combined with the conference was the second of four planned professional development days the 2011 MWP Fellows will plan and present during the coming year. The 2011 MWP SI was led by Site Director Deanna Mascle, Summer Institute Co-Director Brandie Trent, and Summer Institute Coordinator George McKee.
NWP was founded in 1974 to improve the teaching of writing. Today there are 200 National Writing Project sites located on university campuses around the United States. MWP is one of eight sites in the Kentucky Writing Project Network. Designed as a learning community, NWP is the most successful educational network in the history of American education. More than 70,000 teachers are a part of the national network which provides more than 7,000 professional development activities annually, reaching 130,000 educators, and through them, 1.4 million students.
NWP site work begins with the Summer Institute held at all local NWP sites to work on four key concepts: Teacher as Writer, Teacher as Reflective Practitioner, Teacher as Researcher, and Teacher as Leader. A select group of applicants are invited to attend the Summer Institute after undergoing an intensive application and interview process. This is a Fellowship program which offers participants stipends and graduate course credit in return for a year-long commitment to pursuing growth as writers, teachers, researchers, and leaders. MWP is now accepting applications for the 2012 Summer Institute.
For 25 years, MWP has built a large network of teachers who leverage their SI experience and additional NWP training to run a number of programs that serve MSU and our region. These include professional development for teachers and pre-service teachers as well as writing programs for students and adults.
Learn more about MWP and our programs, including the 2012 Summer Institute, at moreheadwritingproject.org