Contact Information:

Dakota Writing Project
Dakota 212, 414 E. Clark St.
University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD 57069-2390
phone: 605 677-5229
fax: 605 677-5298
dwp@usd.edu

How do you inspire your students to write, to become 21st-century writers and thinkers? How do you integrate state standards for writing into your teaching? How do you incorporate NCLB guidelines for writing? How do you find time to write yourself? Where can you have invigorating discussions about writing with like-minded teachers? Here is an opportunity to join a supportive community of South Dakota teachers known for their excellence, who can help you to address these questions and who can help you to become a more competent,confident teacher of writing.

The Dakota Writing Project invites all dedicated, creative teachers, of any discipline or grade level, to apply for the DWP 2009 Summer Invitational Institute, to be held at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion from June 7 to July 1, 2010, to be led by two experienced DWP teacher-consultants. This Institute, which is offered for six hours of graduate credit, will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, with a break for lunch. Teachers are responsible for housing, food, and other expenses during the Institute. Convenient on-campus housing is available.

• learn new strategies for teaching writing in your classroom
• learn from other teachers who care about the teaching of writing
• participate in thoughtful discussions, sharing best practices and new ideas
• discover yourself as a writer (and get feedback from your fellow teachers)
• explore current theory and practice in the teaching of writing
• develop an effective demonstration that you can share with other educators at your school
• learn how you can appropriately fuse writing and technology in the classroom
• continue growing as a teacher-writer in DWP's continuity and leadership programs
• publish your own writing
• become inspired!

What: Dakota Writing Project Summer Invitational Institute

When: June 7-July 1, 2010 Institute (Saturday, May 1, 2010 Pre-Institute; Saturday, September 18, 2010 Fall Reunion)

Where: University of South Dakota, Vermillion

Application Deadline: March 12, 2010

Credit: 6 hrs Graduate Credit in English

Tuition, etc: DWP pays half of tuition and full fees (South Dakota teachers may also be eligible for South Dakota's reduced-tuition program to cover the remaining half.) Also, DWP teachers receive an additional $100 for expenses for pre-institute expenses and $100 for fall reunion expenses.

• Current résumé (include mailing and e-mail addresses, educational background, teaching experience, separate page with references--including a school principal or other supervisor).
• "Where are you going?" Compose a thoughtful, well-written letter in which you answer the question, "Where are you going?" As a teacher, where do you see yourself headed? What are you interested in pursuing in terms of your teaching, writing, and learning?

The deadline for application materials to be submitted is March 12, 2010. Late applications will be considered, depending on space available. If you experience technical problems with emailing your documents, please contact the Dakota Writing Project at dwp@usd.edu for assistance.

Selection of participants will be announced in early April. Participants who are accepted for the summer institute are also required to attend a pre-institute on Saturday, May 1, 2010, and a fall reunion on Saturday, September 19, 2010. The Dakota Writing Project pays half of the tuition and full fees. While teachers are responsible for the remaining tuition, South Dakota K-12 teachers may be eligible for South Dakota's reduced-tuition program, which, typically pays half-tuition--download the Microsoft Word document at http://www.sdbor.edu/k-12educators/documents/ReducedTuitionform.doc. Teachers are responsible for housing, food, and other expenses during the Institute. Teachers will receive $100 for Pre-Institute expenses and $100 for Fall Reunion expenses after these events take place.

"The Dakota Writing Project showed me the writing process I now use to teach my second graders."  --Kerry Koppang, St. Agnes School, Vermillion

"The summer institute is an 'awakening' for the writing we each have within us."  --Shirley E. Garry, Joe Foss High School, Sioux Falls

"Summer Institute 1998 gave me the courage and support I needed to completely transform my junior-senior English classroom into a reading-writing workshop, something I had been researching on my own for some 10 years. I recommend the Summer Institute to every teacher, not just teachers of the language arts."  --Nancy Kampfe, Rapid City Stevens High School

"The Dakota Writing Project not only opened my mind to the possibility that you could be a writer and a music teacher at the same time, but it showed me how I could combine my two worlds into one. Music and writing go hand in hand, two art forms that complement one another beautifully. I have tried so many activities that work great, add some zest to my band classes, and enforce how important writing really is. Not only that, but DWP has given me access to a great group of teachers with wonderful ideas that they are willing to share. I have had wonderful experiences traveling, eating, crying, laughing, and writing with these people. I have also developed the confidence to share my writing and ideas with many people, all of whom accept, appreciate, and embrace the same things I do. All that, and my teaching has improved tremendously!" --Dawn Lewis, Burke Public School

"The 1999 DWP Summer Institute gave me confidence in my writing ability. What I say does make a difference, not only to me but to others. People are not born writers--they stretch and grow--and become writers. The process never ends." --Valerie Parsley, Principal, Rutland School

"DWP introduced me to the most meaningful discovery of my professional life: 'teachers teaching teachers.' What a difference this collegial experience has made to my teaching and my writing!" --Sue Morrell, Wagner High School

"Before the Writing Project, I was a teacher who taught writing. I am now a writer who teaches writing. The Dakota Writing Project has changed my professional outlook on education. I have continued with the project's belief in constant professional growth by attending various conferences, and reading many professional books and journals. The Writing Project has had the biggest impact on my life as a professional learner. --Stefanie Rysdahl, 5th grade teacher, formerly at JFK Elementary, Sioux Falls

"Getting together with K-12 teachers from all disciplines helped me view the writing process from many diverse perspectives. Not everyone approaches writing the same way! I never fail to be inspired by learning from teachers from so many different backgrounds. It reminds me that all teachers really do form a great team!" --Sharon Olbertson, Kilian Community College, Sioux Falls

"Writing is often the missing piece (or the weakest link) in the early literacy puzzle. Through my own writing, DWP offered me an opportunity to know what I think about supporting emergent writers." --Cathie Carlson, 1st grade teacher, formerly at Lowell Elementary, Sioux Falls

"DWP will change the way you think about teaching and writing, and life will never be the same! Teachers truly teaching other teachers--the best way to learn and grow." --Ann Haggerty, 6th grade teacher, Mankato, MN

For examples of writing that teachers did during the recent DWP summer institute, along with DWP news and articles by other DWP teachers, visit the DWP newsletter at http://dakota.edublogs.org/. You can also visit the website of the National Writing Project, where you will be able to explore links to local sites like ours from around the country. FInally, read more about the DWP Invitational Summer Institute and how it is different from other DWP opportunities.

The Dakota Writing Project is one of approximately 200 sites affiliated with the National Writing Project, a non-profit organization. The mission of NWP is to provide "a collaborative university/school staff development program to improve the teaching and learning of writing in the nation's classrooms." DWP and NWP are dedicated to the improvement of writing in all subjects from kindergarten through college. For more information about the Dakota Writing Project, email us at dwp@usd.edu.