Local educators meet with Georgia representatives in Washington

Pictured are, from left, Mildred Pate, GSWP co-director; Leighanne Pace, Red Clay WP-Athens; Allie Scott, SCES-GWSP; Mrs. Chambliss; Kim Oglesby, SCES-GSWP; Jennifer Smith, SCES-GSWP; and Gigi Mills, SCES-GSWP. (Photo contributed)

National Writing Project (NWP) sites across the U.S. met in Washington, D.C. for their annual spring meeting March 28- 30, including four educators from Screven County Elementary School (SCES).

Allie Scott of Millen, Kim Oglesby, Jennifer Smith and Gigi Mills from Screven County are local educators and teacher consultants with Georgia Southern Writing Project (GSWP), an affiliate of NWP.

While in Washington, Mills, Oglesby, Scott and Smith, along with their writing project colleagues across Georgia, met with U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss' wife, who is a retired teacher, and legislative aide, U.S. Representative John Barrow and U.S. Representative Jim Marshall from District 8.

Rep. Barrow has been a continuous supporter of NWP, and the SCES educators are looking forward to possible visits from him in the future during the GSWP Family Literacy Nights at SCES and Youth Writing Projects to be conducted this summer.

Mrs. Chambliss was extremely interested in the work of NWP. As a former teacher, she knew first hand the problems many children have with writing. She asked detailed questions about NWP curriculum and about the impact of NWP on the classrooms. Rep. Marshall's aide was also eager to hear about the work of NWP and the development of a new site in his district at Georgia College and State University.

The NWP is a process of "teachers teaching teachers" who in turn teach students how to become better writers. Founded in 1974 at University of California Berkley, NWP has grown to nearly 300 sites across the country. Each site is affiliated with a local university where teachers attend summer institutes and year-round programs to learn multi-genre approaches to writing. Fully developed writing is difficult for many students, and teaching writing can by very intimidating for many teachers. NWP offers instruction and support for both teachers and students.