Contact: Geraldine Lunday -Director of Professional Development
662-224-8103 or jerrylun@bellsouth.net
The University of Mississippi Writing Project provides professional development for the northern part of the state. Staff development is tailored for the participating schools. The professional development co-director, Geraldine Lunday, works with schools to provide the professional development that will meet the needs of individual schools. Professional development sessions are under contract this year for sessions from one day to twenty-eight days. No request is too large or too small. The professional development is provided by highly trained teacher consultants that have an interest in making writing a core component in every classroom in our district. Teacher consultants are matched to the schools according to their interests as well as their expertise.
Every effort is made while working with curriculum coordinators, principals, and superintendents to provide the staff development the school district feels is necessary for their teachers. This gives the district ownership of the staff development and a vested interest in its outcome. The program is flexible enough to enhance the writing program of schools where writing is a top priority and scores are above state average to those that are struggling to put a superb writing program in place.
Recent professional development sites include: Tippah, Tishomingo, Prentiss, and Alcorn Counties. Highly successful sessions at this time are those that involve professional development followed up by a teacher consultant modeling writing in the classroom with the teachers looking on and students as active participants. This gives teachers the opportunity to not only experience the writing process in professional development but to see it work with their own students.
Some recent quotes from teachers:
“I am finally excited about teaching writing!”
“Writing workshop really works.”
“I have been preparing for the state writing assessment for four years and hating every minute of it. This method has enabled me to empower my students to do the hard part and I can enjoy the ride.”The University of Mississippi Writing Project, as an affiliate of the National Writing Project, is named as a school reform model for the federal Comprehensive School Reform project.
Professional Days
Make the most of your district's contractual professional development time with custom-designed full-day or half-day interactive workshops for the entire faculty or for a particular group. Professional Days are ideal for introducing new initiatives to teachers or for giving study groups a jump start on their work.
After-School Series
The after-school workshop series is the most flexible and effective way to provide sustained professional development to teachers and other staff. A sequence of interactive sessions totaling 10 hours or offers participants the opportunity to develop in-depth understanding, apply what they are learning, and build a network of support.
Demonstration Sessions
An efficient way to disseminate knowledge and foster leadership is to have UMWP model effective teaching strategies in demonstration lessons while your teachers observe. This program includes a collaborative planning session, a demonstration lesson and a debriefing session.
Summer Programs
For many teachers, summer offers the best opportunity for in-depth professional development. UMWP is prepared to offer programs at your site ranging from several hours to a week or more.
Custom Designs
The workshop formats described above are only a few of the possibilities. Sometimes a combination of activities is needed to meet the needs of diverse faculty. Besides giving workshops, UMWP teacher-consultants can provide mentoring to individuals or small groups, or present demonstration lessons
