Celebrate National Day on Writing

Celebrate the National Day on Writing with your students on Thursday, October 20. Submit student and teacher "Why I Write" pieces to PLWP's National Day on Writing Gallery. Tell us how you plan to celebrate or celebrated the National Day on Writing by posting a comment here.

14 Teachers Complete Invitational Institute

Fourteen area teachers have received their National Writing Project Teacher Consultant Certification. As such, they join the National Writing Project’s network of literacy teacher leaders throughout the country.


The teachers successfully completed PLWP’s 2011 Invitational Institute which met at MWSU on Saturdays last spring, for four weeks in July, and again on Saturdays in September. The participants prepared for literacy leadership roles by conducting an inquiry demonstration, studying research, and improving their knowledge of writing and teaching writing.

For Rae Lynn Stroud, St. Joseph Hall Elementary Grade 3 teacher, participating in the Invitational Institute was “life-changing. I rekindled my own passion for writing and have joined a professional network of teachers with whom I can share ideas and teaching strategies.”

Lisa Miller, Savannah Middle School Language Arts Teacher, described the Invitational as “the best investment I have ever made in myself as a teacher and in my students. I have learned so many new techniques and ideas to implement in my classroom.”

Thomas Pankiewicz, MWSU English Instructor, directed this year’s Invitational, with Christie Leigan, St. Joseph School District Instructional Coach as Co-Director, and Kyla Ward, St. Joseph Central High School Communication Arts Teacher as mentor.

Teachers completing the Invitational besides Stroud and Miller included Lori Burns, Sherwood High School Communication Arts Teacher; Jackie Clark, Missouri Western State University Graduate Teaching Assistant; Josie Clark, St. Joseph Bode Middle School Communication Arts Teacher; Amanda Felice, Missouri Western State University MAA in Written Communications Graduate Student; Katey Girard, Lathrop Middle and High School Communication Arts Teacher; Stephanie Hartley, Missouri Western State University Graduate Teaching Assistant; Leigh Lewandowski, Lathrop High School Social Studies Teacher; Joe Marmaud, Missouri Western State University Adjunct English Instructor; Mary Martin, Platte County High School Communication Arts Teacher and Department Chair; Helen Penrod, West Platte High School Communication Arts Teacher; Janet Smith, Crest Ridge Middle and High School Library Media Specialist; and Whitney Zanter, Lathrop High School Communication Arts Teacher.

Patsy Brost teaches creative writing

Kudos to Patsy Brost, Prairie Lands Teacher Consultant and Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing recipient, who has joined the Center for Community Arts at Missouri Western as a creative writing teacher. Patsy says the Prairie Lands Writing Project Invitational Institute was a life-changing experience for herself as a writer and teacher: "I not only learned new methods of teaching writing, but I also learned how valuable it is to be a part of a community of writers, to be able to share with other writers, to receive feedback, suggestions, and positive reinforcement."

Misty Burright: Technology Teacher Consultant Extraordinaire

Misty Burright, visual arts teacher at St. Joseph Lindbergh Elementary School, put together this FANTASTIC video showcasing the changes in her professional life and teaching since she signed up for our 2010 Invitational Institute.

Call for Submissions: Missouri Teachers Write Deadline is May 1

Do you have a piece of writing from the Invitational that deserves another audience? The Missouri Association of Teachers of English seeks teacher-written pieces of poetry, memoir, drama, essay and short story for its 2011 on-line edition:

• Poetry (selections of 50 lines or fewer are preferred)


• Features/Essays (1,000 words or less)


• Short Fiction (1,000 words or less)


• Non-Fiction (On any subject, 1,000 words or less)

Submit entries in Helvetica or Times New Roman, 12 point. Include a title page with each entry which includes author's name, teaching affiliation, contact information and if desired, a brief annotation about the entry. Send inquires and submissions to Charla Jones, editor: cahhdf@centurytel.net.

Kudos to Stacia Studer

Stacia Studer, 2007 Invitational, and communication arts teacher at St. Joseph Bode Middle School, is one of three finalists for this year's St. Joseph Teacher of the Year.

Welcome to PRAIRIE VOICE

Welcome to Prairie Voice, the BLOG I've just created to "spread the word" about the concerns, activities, and Teacher Consultant Achievements at Prairie Lands Writing Project (PLWP) located in St. Joseph, MO.

We have a WHOPPING concern these days at PLWP because Congress and the President wrote the National Writing Project out of the federal 2011 budget back in March. Suddenly, we are faced with the loss of our federal moneys that we match with local revenue sources. For example, during the calendar year which ended August 31, 2010, we matched our federal grant moneys of $66,000 allocated through the National Writing Project with $82,706.12 in local funding. These funds allowed us to offer 73 separate literacy programs which reached 1575 teachers, pre-service teachers and youth, for a total of 19, 920 program contact hours! While I am cautiously optimistic that Prairie Lands will not completely disappear when we've spent down our remaining federal dollars, our presence in northwest Missouri is likely to be greatly diminished. And even more worrisome to me is the fate of our National Writing Project (NWP) upon which we rely so heavily here at Prairie Lands for inspiration and innovation in developing and nurturing our programs. Just since January, ten of our Teacher Consultants (TCs) have completed an online book study based on NWP's Because Digital Writing Matters, TCs Kathy Miller and Deb Schwebach have participated in the NWP's Rural Sites Network Conference held in Little Rock, AR, on literacy learning in rural settings, and we have launched our 2011 NWP Invitational Institute, which will bring 14 area teachers to Missouri Western for a summer of writing, teaching writing, and literacy research. These programs were only possible because of the NWP!