School Partnerships: A Year of Professional Development

By Mark Dziedzic

Minnesota WP describes the importance of connecting resources across projects.

Reflecting on this partnership, one thing our site will take back with us is the importance of connecting our Writing Project resources across projects. By utilizing the professional development that was built into our Writing Project site, we were able to offer the teachers professional development that both met their needs as a site and maximized our use of available resources. We were able to focus learning opportunities to meet the teachers’ specific needs as we met with them at their school site, and we were able to connect them with other teachers, a variety of speakers, and partnership resources like the Weisman Art Museum and the Minnesota Department of Education, by connecting them to other MWP professional development opportunities. In addition, the program structure rotated between MWP workshops, on-site workshops and on-site PLC time. The PLC and on-site time allowed for time to apply and implement the ideas gathered at the more formal workshops.

Calendar with Handout/Resources Links

Session	Topics
Session 1	Grant Overview Building Community Group Norms Create Goals
Session 2	Speaker on Connected Learning Learning Activity Group Time with NMA to check-in
Session 3	Introduce Books and Resources Make plan for PLC meetings Demo Lesson – Anne SB
PLC Session 1	Student Work (PLC)
PLC Session 2	Student Work (PLC)
Saturday Session 1	Writing Prompt Meeting the ELA Common Core Group Work Time
PLC Session 3	Student Work (PLC) Using the Writing Process
Saturday Session 2	Writing Prompt Meeting the ELA Common Core Group Work Time
PLC Session 4	Demo: Persuasive Paragraph
Saturday Session 3	Writing Prompt Meeting the ELA Common Core Group Work Time
PLC Session 5	Student Work (PLC) Using the Writing Process
Saturday Session 4	Writing Prompt Meeting the ELA Common Core Group Work Time
PLC Session 6	Demo: Persuasive Paragraph
Saturday Session 5	Writing Prompt Meeting the ELA Common Core Group Work Time
PLC Session 7	Student Work (PLC) Demo: Digital Process Year Reflection Moving Forward Goals
Carnival and Celebration

Topics/tags:

Professional Learning

Planning a Cohesive, Year-long Program with a Partner School: The Arc of Professional Development

By Jane Frick, Tom Pankiewcz, and Terri McAvoy

On-Site Consulting: New York City Writing Project

By Nancy Mintz, Alan L. Stein, and Marcie Wolfe

This NWP monograph provides an in-depth look at the longstanding New York City WP program of school-based professional development partnerships with the New York City public schools. Former NYCWP Director Marcie Wolfe provides background information on the development and evolution of the program which places TCs on-site at partner schools for multi-year cycles. Two TCs with extensive experience in the on-site consultant role, Nancy Mintz and Alan Stein, then share their experiences. Mintz explores a fundamental consulting/coaching dilemma: how do you hold onto your core beliefs and values, while not trying to enact those beliefs and visions in someone else’s classroom. Stein’s story describes a crucial shift in school culture and the importance of the collaboration between himself, the principal, and several key teachers at the school. This thoughtful, extensive exploration of work in and with schools serves as a valuable resource for any leadership team considering extended professional development partnerships.

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By National Writing Project

This episode of NWP Radio features a conversation with Tess Taylor, an avid gardener, the author of five acclaimed collections of poetry, and the editor of Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens and the Hands that Tend Them.