The Cal State Northridge Writing Project

Professional Development for you and your staff : The importance of learning to write well is a rarely disputed commonplace. Writing Project sites nationwide have a long history of providing useful and cost-effective professional development to teachers across grade levels and in all disciplines. One way Administrators can help teachers develop their abilities to teach writing effectively is by nominating them to become a Fellow in our annual Summer Invitational Institute.

Government Mandates and the Cal State Northridge Writing Project
As an affiliate of the California and National Writing Projects, we are authorized by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and the California State Board of Education to provide professional development.

As an affiliate of the California Subject Matter Project and the California Writing Project, the Cal State Northridge Writing Project is an AB 472 provider for the 80-hour professional development follow-up component to the 40-hour English/Language Arts instructional materials training. The Cal State Northridge Writing Project professional development programs provide:

As an affiliate of the National Writing Project, the Cal State Northridge Writing Project is:

Title I, Part A: professional development and mentoring programs for Title I schools and teachers

Title II, Part A: professional development for helping teachers meet NCLB teacher requirements AND professional development in subject-matter knowledge, improving teaching skills, assisting teachers to use California’s academic content standards and student achievement standards, and state assessments to improve student achievement.

Title II, Part D: professional development focused on enhancing education through technology.

Title III, Part A: professional development focused on improving instruction for English learners

Title VII, Part A: professional development focused on improving the instruction of Native American students.

The California Writing Project professional development model is a model to which we enthusiastically adhere. It is validated by research and by studies of student achievement at the local and national levels:

Download our brochure to share with your teachers. And check back with us in late December. If we have been funded, you will see a list of possible Professional Development opportunites that we are prepared to provide. Or email us now with a query about a PD experience you'd like to provide your teachers. With our wide range of area contacts, it is likely that we will be able to offer the experience you are looking for at a reasonable cost. And don't underestimate the power of joining your teachers during the PD experience. Understanding the fundamentals of writing well--and teaching others to write well--will certainly help you support the development of their effective classroom practice.

Helping students write better: Students who write more typically write better. Yet with the many demands on classroom time, teachers are not always able to provide students with as many opportunities to write as they would like. (Some theorists suggest that students should write four or five times more than any teacher could possibly respond to in order to grow as writers!) The Write Stuff--our annual Young Writer's Camps--are designed to augment the time students have for writing in a cheerful and productive instructional environment. Distribute our brochure to your teachers and your parents. Encourage students to participate. Or think about providing a specialized Young Writer's Camp on your own campus. If you provide the classroom space, we can provide the instructors and the curriculum. Once again, email us with your request, and we can develop the program or programs to fit your (and your students!) needs.