National Writing Project Expands Adolescent Literacy Efforts

Carnegie Corporation of New York Awards Grant to Leading Professional Development Organization

For Immediate Release

Berkeley, CA, November 28, 2007 – With a new grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the National Writing Project (NWP) will focus on providing teachers the tools to help adolescent readers achieve well in all subjects. The three-year, $764,700 Advancing Literacy grant will enable the NWP to increase the number of sites offering high-quality professional development programs that focus on improving literacy across the curriculum.

The challenge for middle and high school students is no longer learning to read. Rather, it is reading to learn. Textbooks, reference documents, and other reading materials are the primary vehicles for delivering knowledge in all subject areas. If students are not highly literate and able to comprehend what they read, they will often struggle and not succeed. The majority of teachers in math, science, history, and other core content areas have not been provided literacy training to assist students.

Strengthening achievement for all students will require high-quality literacy-focused professional development for teachers across the curriculum.

"Numerous reports over the past few years point to the fact that strengthening achievement for all students will require high-quality literacy-focused professional development for teachers across the curriculum," said Andrés Henríquez, Program Officer and Manager, Adolescent Literacy Project, Carnegie Corporation of New York. "The NWP, with 200 sites in all 50 states, is very well-suited to take on this new work."

"We are excited about the opportunity to enlarge our efforts," said Richard Sterling, NWP Executive Director, "and grateful to the Carnegie Corporation for its ongoing dedication to building capacity for reading and writing instruction. The National Writing Project will now be able to reach many more teachers and, as a result, students."

The Advancing Literacy grant will enable the NWP to expand involvement of content-area teachers in local National Writing Project sites and in the national network; increase the number of National Writing Project sites able to offer high-quality professional development programs that focus on improving adolescent literacy across the curriculum; and review, analyze, and document a range of learning and assessment tools that support practitioners and researchers in assessing adolescent literacy development across content areas.

The National Writing Project is the most significant coordinated effort to improve writing in America. NWP sites, located on nearly 200 university and college campuses, serve more than 135,000 educators annually. NWP continues to add new sites each year with the goal of placing the writing project within reach of every teacher in America. Through its professional development model, NWP develops the leadership, programs, and research needed for teachers to help students become successful writers and learners. For more information, visit www.nwp.org.