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Each year, the NYCWP offers a variety of options for teachers to engage with one another, both as writers and as educators, to explore and deepen their craft and practice. These programs are open to P-16 educators working in all types of schools–public, private, and charter–in NYC and the surrounding areas. As some of this work is grant-funded, there may be some participation requirements for certain programs, but we also provide professional learning opportunities that are open to anyone who wants to join us. Please read more about each individual program for details, and please note that not all programs are offered at all times.
- Invitational Leadership Institute (ILI): The ILI represents a change from our previous Invitational Summer Institute (ISI), which was revised for Summer 2016. The ILI remains at the heart of the NYCWP’s–and all Writing Projects’–work. Every branch of the Writing Project offers its own ILI; for this reason, first preference goes to NYC teachers. If you’re from outside of New York City, we encourage you to find a Writing Project site close to home. The ILI brings together teachers of grade levels from PreK-16 to read, write and learn together for a two-week intensive experience in July. The program then continues through the school year as Fellows design and complete classroom inquiry projects, with the support of their cohort and NYCWP TCs and teacher-leaders through monthly online sessions and three in-person meetings. As participants in the ILI, teachers not only examine pedagogy and their classroom practices but also have the opportunity to do a great deal of their own writing on a variety of topics, which helps them to better understand their students’ writing processes. Each participant in the ILI completes a portfolio of work and designs a workshop about their classroom inquiry project to be facilitated at the NYCWP’s spring Teacher-to-Teacher Conference, which marks the culmination of the Fellowship. ILI Fellows are compensated for their participation, and receive their choice of either tuition-waived graduate credit or a stipend upon completion of the summer phase.
- Second Year Fellowship: The Second Year Fellowship was created in 2014, as a component of the ILI that welcomes back past Fellows in an expanded leadership role. This is an essential component of the NYCWP’s model, as Second Year Fellows (sometimes called 2YFs) receive the training to move into leadership positions within their schools and the NYCWP by becoming trained professional-learning facilitators and engaging with Project theory and practice on a deeper level. The Second Year Fellowship was revised in 2016 so that it, like the ILI, moved beyond the boundary of the summer to include a more significant school-year portion to the work, which enables Fellows to see the effects of their learning in their own classrooms. Second-Year Fellows engage with the First year group of ILI participants to serve as models, mentors and coaches. They coach ILI Fellows through their inquiry projects and help them prepare for their Teacher-to-Teacher workshops in the spring. Fellows also design future NYCWP offerings (workshops, hybrid courses) and emerge as teacher-leaders in an NYCWP framework. In 2016, the Second Year Fellowship also grew to include a new partnership with the PERC school site at Lehman College. Second Year Fellows facilitated workshops and provided professional learning to teachers and student-leaders working in the PERC school, whose model serves to support students in passing necessary high school Regents to graduate by engaging them as Teaching Assistant Scholars (called TASes); Second Year Fellows support both the PERC teachers and TASes to engage PERC students at higher levels of literacy.
- Summer Open Institutes: Previously called the “New Teachers Institute,” the Summer Open Institutes are week-long programs that run at the NYCWP throughout the month of July, to engage teachers at all levels of their career. While we still offer general “Opens” for new teachers and those new to Writing Project work, we have expanded these offerings to include content-focused sessions, as well. The grade-band specific (K-8 or 6-12) Summer Open Institutes provide the opportunity for new and novice teachers to learn about the NYCWP and how the NYCWP can support their work in the challenging first few years in a classroom; more veteran teachers who are interested in learning more about the NYCWP’s student-centered approaches to teaching literacy are also encouraged to attend. We also have offered more focused programs, which vary each year. Past and future offerings have included Open Institutes about Connected Learning; teaching reading and writing to ENL and NLL students; the teacher-as-writer; location- and trip-specific programs; and more. Participants in the Open Institutes will explore ways to integrate reading and writing across the curriculum, design student-centered classrooms and examine their practice as they come into their own as educators. Unless otherwise specified, these programs are appropriate for teachers of all grades and content areas.
- Connected Learning: The NYCWP values the impact that connected learning practices have in the classroom. While connected learning incorporates technology, access to a laptop cart or iPads is just the beginning of what connected learning is really about. Our CL workshops investigate the ways that technology can be used to create democratic classrooms by engaging students in open space and interest-driven communication and collaboration. Past CL programs have included the Youth Voices Inquiry Project, which brings teachers and students together in a co-learning environment to explore their interests and passions using digital media and connected learning. In this program, high school students learn alongside teachers in a 2:1 ratio. Teachers will have the opportunity to discover news ways of publishing and sharing student work, the role that technology can play in the classroom and in motivating students, and ways to design projects and curricula that emphasize connected learning. Other CL programs include the Connected Learning Open Institute (see above, under Summer Open Institutes), hybrid workshops, and Letters to the Next President 2.0.
- Writers’ Residency: One of the hallmarks of the NYCWP is our encouragement of the teacher-as-writer. We believe that the best teachers of writing are writers themselves, and many of our participants have gone on to write and publish their own work! In the style of Writers’ Residencies like Breadloaf and Yaddo, the NYCWP designed the Summer Writers’ Residency to foster teachers as they engage in an intensive and intimate writing workshop experience. Writers of all levels are encouraged to apply; participants will learn together to improve their writing craft and explore publication options.
- Other Opportunities: While we offer several institutes, fellowships, and longer-ranging opportunities, the NYCWP also provides single-day and school-based professional learning. This is a great opportunity to see what the NYCWP can offer without the time commitment required for an institute or fellowship. Don’t see what you’re looking for? We’re always open to suggestions! Email admin@nycwritingproject.org to see what we can provide!
You can learn more about these programs by following the links above.
If you are interested in a Fellowship, information about applications and interviews is typically made available in the late winter or early spring.
If you are interested in a Seminar, Residency, or Institute, information about registration is typically made available about 2-3 months before the program begins. As many of our programs launch in July, we encourage teachers to check back in late April to see what the summer offerings will be.
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