News from SUNY Cortland

For more information contact: Jean Palmer, 607-753-2232

Central New York Teachers Selected For Federal Writing Project

SUNY Cortland Will Host Four-Week Writing Institute Beginning July 7

CORTLAND, NY (06/05/2008; 0951)(readMedia)-- Fifteen Central New York teachers were notified in April that they were chosen by the Seven Valleys Writing Project (SVWP) to undertake an intensive, four-week Summer Institute from July 7-Aug. 1 at SUNY Cortland.

The College was approved for long-term, renewable federal Department of Education funding to start a local branch of the National Writing Project as a means of helping outstanding teachers across Central New York improve their practice through writing and research.

“It’s a mark of distinction for the school districts these teachers work in,” said David Franke, a SUNY Cortland associate professor of English and professional writing who is the College’s project director. “These educators who teach in all fields and at all levels are well-established in their professions and are interested in deepening their professional practice on their own time during the summer.”

“The idea of becoming a better writer, personally, is so exciting,” said Jacqueline Deal, an English language arts teacher at Evergreen Alternative High School in the Broome-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in Vestal, N.Y. “I hope to come away with new concepts, attitudes and beliefs about writing and take those back to empower my students with what I learned.”

The group of area kindergarten through 12th grade teachers gathered on May 31 at the College’s Alumni House at 29 Tompkins Street, Cortland, N.Y., for a daylong pre-institute meeting. These master educators met each other and identified the research, writing and leadership teaching projects they will work on during the institute.

The institute will take place at Main Street SUNY Cortland, an extension facility the College operates at 9 Main St. in downtown Cortland. The educators will hone their written expression and improve their grasp of research in education-related subjects. Subsequently, they will share their knowledge with colleagues and students back in their home districts by conducting professional development demonstrations after school hours.

Franke, the lead writer of the successful grant application, currently oversees the $30,000 in federal funding, which was matched by a $35,000 grant approved through SUNY Cortland’s President’s Cabinet.

The seed money, awarded last Fall, supports a multi-year project that will ultimately serve 79 school districts in an eight-county territory located within a 100-mile radius of Cortland. The 15 teachers were competitively selected from nearly 30 applicants and were required to have at least two years of teaching experience. The participants were chosen from districts in Cortland, Madison, Chenango, Broome, Tioga, Tompkins, Cayuga and Onondaga Counties.

“I think the best thing about this program is that it brings a community of writers and teachers together to collaborate,” said Michael Brewster, English language arts teacher at Port Byron (N.Y.) Middle School and one of the participants in this year’s institute. “It’s tremendously exciting to be able to be part of this community. I personally hope to go back to my district and help other teachers incorporate writing into their classes.”

“This year’s institute is going to be a place to nurture my own personal writing,” said Carol Mikoda, an eighth grade English language arts teacher in the Windsor (N.Y.) Central School District. “It will allow me to investigate how to become a better writer with a community of writers and learners. I think the institute is the best thing. It is like an incubator that will allow me to go back to my classroom and be a better teacher.”

The other Central New York teachers chosen to attend this summer’s institute were: Joshua Borthwick, social studies teacher at Ithaca (N.Y.) High School; Karen Brey, English language arts teacher at Windsor (N.Y.) High School; Wendy Brown, reading specialist at the Lansing (N.Y.) Middle School; Anne Marie Heymann, reading teacher at the Tully (N.Y.) Elementary School; Pam Horton, fourth grade teacher and teacher center director at the Owego-Apalachin (N.Y.) Central School District; Todd Howell, English language arts teacher at the Lansing (N.Y.) Middle School; and Dean Kloss, first grade teacher at the Kathryn C. Heffernan Elementary School in Marcellus, N.Y.

Also, Shannon Maxson, teacher center director at the Lansing (N.Y.) High School; Ann Moore, geology and science teacher at the Cayuga Onondaga BOCES in Auburn, N.Y.; Eric Pritz, former principal and a social studies teacher in the Ithaca (N.Y.) City School District; Allison Star, English language arts teacher at the Candor (N.Y.) Elementary School; and Derek Villnave, alternative education junior high teacher with the Cayuga Onondaga BOCES.

Brian Fay, a teacher at the Onondaga-Cayuga-Madison BOCES, is co-director on the SVWP. Fay will serve as a second teacher of the graduate classes.

Franke will also teach in the Summer Institute this year. Guest lecturers include Alexander Reid, who publishes new media theory, and Victoria Boynton, who publishes on writing and gender as well as creative writing. Both are members of the College’s English Department.

Local educational community representatives have joined the SVWP Planning Board to set up workshop sites, recruit teachers and serve on the project’s steering committee.

For more information about the SVWP, contact Franke at (607) 753-5945.

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