Happy New Year! We hope that your 2024 is off to a meaningful start.

Thank you for taking the time to receive and review this newsletter. We are grateful to be in community with you. Feel free to share this information with others.

If you have any updates, ideas, and/or concerns, we’d like to hear from you. Email us at wpwp@pitt.edu.

“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It's like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”

― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

You’re invited to join us for a network meeting to discuss the work of the WPWP. During the meeting, we will discuss upcoming events and plans for our network. All are welcome to attend. Please share this meeting with a friend. If you have any questions, please email wpwp@pitt.edu.

Date: Saturday, March 30

Time: 10 a.m.-1p.m.

Location: The Colloquium Room (Posvar Hall 5601)
Wesley W. Posvar Hall, 230 South Bouquet Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 (directions)

We are continuing our collaboration with Carnegie Museum of Art for Empowered Educators. Empowered Educators is a forum where educators discuss issues of race, equality, and bias through visual art, literature, and personal writing and reflection. The primary objective of Empowered Educators is to build a community of informed teachers as learners who benefit from resources and an exchange of ideas with guest experts and each other to better serve Western Pennsylvania's students.

Our next session will be on Thursday, February 15 from 5-7:30 p.m. in the museum’s boardroom. Each session will include dinner (vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options will be available).

All workshops are free, and the museum waives your parking in the lot.

Save the Dates for Empowered Educators

Our Summer Institute will be held July 8-August 2 at the University of Pittsburgh!

We are pleased to offer a restorative and explorative four-week seminar for educators. If you are a classroom teacher, community educator, or education leader looking to have dedicated time for writing, improve your practice, and/or influence the writing culture in your school or organization, the WPWP Summer Institute is for you!

During the four weeks, educators (grade levels K to college, across all disciplines and communities) develop their personal and professional writing, explore new writing strategies, consider curriculum, and deepen inquiry connected to writing as a tool for education equity, access, and social justice. Together, we investigate best practices in writing and literacy instruction through shared demonstrations of practice, readings, and intentional focus on our writing and reading processes.

Please share the application and nomination form with educators and leaders. We will accept applications and nominations through April 1, 2024. If you have any questions, please email wpwp@pitt.edu.

We are pleased to announce that we will be collaborating with Classrooms Without Borders to support our Writing Project Fellows who are interested in attending the 2024 Marching Down Freedom’s Road: Civil Rights to the Black Freedom Movement, June 16-24.

The seminar “embarks on a journey through the foundational stages of the Black-led freedom movement, commonly known as the "long civil rights movement," and delve into contemporary activism. Uncovering this movement's historical narratives, triumphs, and persistent challenges. Our Seminar commences in Atlanta and traverses through Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, Memphis, and Louisville, concluding in Cincinnati.”

The WPWP will support 5 fellows who have completed our summer institute in past years. Please email wpwp@pitt.edu if you are interested in learning more about this opportunity.

Important note: Please email us before completing the application.

The National African American Read-In (AARI) is a groundbreaking effort to encourage communities to read together, centering African American books and authors. It was established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month. This initiative has reached more than 6 million participants around the world. Check out NCTE’s guidance for planning an event or attending one.

February 27, 2024 is Pitt Day of Giving (PDOG)! PDOG is a designated day when thousands of alumni, faculty, staff, friends and family from around the world come together with the shared goal of giving. The Western Pennsylvania Writing Project has established a unique fund to house financial contributions to support the future of our work and network. Please consider giving and sharing with others who might support our efforts to transform the teaching of writing and literacy and strive to be a model of professional learning, teacher leadership, and reform.

We are hoping to strengthen both communication and connection as we begin our 40th year as an NWP site! This year, we are enhancing our communication methods by addressing any gaps in contact information. Please complete this contact form if you haven’t already. We encourage you to share it with others who might be interested in re/connecting with the WPWP network.