Testimonials

Why I Did CWP

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In 1987 I fell into a CWP two week course out of desperation! I was in need of (at that time) recertification credit and this summer workshop was a possibility. And what a possibility it turned out to be. I realized in my 4th year of teaching that I knew little about how to engage students authentically to write. I knew little about the nuts and bolts of writing as a writer and as a teacher of writing. I needed to learn more and unbeknownst to me at that time, that summer program set me on a course that made writing come alive to me and hopefully my students. Both happened, and my journey deepened my discovery of how writers’ workshop energized every classroom full of students from that time on. My passion for learning more about writing ignited and my students and I workshopped on together. We all grew as writers.

CWP is freeing. CWP is challenging. CWP offers possibilities and knowledge you as a teacher will receive no where else.

Grab a pen and join a CWP near you!

–Karen Crawford, CWP Co-Director

Why I use workshop

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I use workshop because providing students with choice, time, feedback, instruction, and structure creates a magic that entices even the most reluctant and spazziest 6th grader, as well as the coolest and laziest 12th grader, to write and risk and create.

The days when I know my writing workshop is thriving are the days when I get to class and the students don’t even notice my arrival.  Full disclosure: The first time this happened, I felt insulted.  Hey, I’m the teacher and this is MY class! Everything revolves around ME!  Nothing begins in here until I get class going!

And then, I took advantage of this “fly on the wall” opportunity and I listened and observed my writing workshop at work.  I watched my students get their writing areas set up, lining up pencils, finding a fresh, clean page in a writer’s notebook, and powering up computers.  There was a happy buzz of productivity as the students greeted each other and got situated.  They were happy and excited and motivated.  I realized that while my students still needed me, they didn’t need me to get them started or to tell them what to do that day – they knew what THEY wanted to do as writers.  Because of the work we did to establish our workshop at the beginning of the year, my students were serious about their writing work, and they wanted to get down to business.

It was writing nirvana.  And it was magic made possible by workshop.

–Sheila Kaehny, CWP Teacher Consultant

Why I Did CWP

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Two weeks in July of 1992 changed my life as a teacher. I know that sounds a bit radical, but that’s the summer I learned about writers’ workshop – not just how to teach writers’ workshop, but how to be a writer in a writers’ workshop. Colorado Writing Project showed me the power of writing in a community, of writing for my own purposes, of writing with passion and power and joy. I never looked back after that summer. I believe unconditionally in the way writers’ workshops change people’s lives, whether they be five or fifteen or fifty. Join us for an unforgettable experience and transform your own classroom. It’s never too late and your students will thank you for it!

Shari VanderVelde, CWP Teacher Consultant

Graduate of Karen Hartman’s 1992 CWP and Stevi Quate’s 1995 CWPII

Why I Did CWP

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I took CWP in 1986 with two other members of the Thornton High School English department. Our department was working hard to move to a portfolio system; it seemed to many of us that assessing by portfolios called for a different way of teaching. We began reading, talking, attending conferences, and some of us took CWP. Our department grew as teachers of writing; I felt so fortunate to be working in a department focused on teaching with best practices in mind, helping each other grow as writers and teachers. I quickly learned that choice, time to write, authentic audiences, good written response, timely focus lessons, conferences, workshop groups, and celebration engaged my students and motivated them to get better at their writing. I’ve been with CWP for 30 years and love to watch how teachers grow as writers and as teachers of writing in our two weeks together. We hope you will join us soon!

Karen Hartman

Director, CWP

Testimonial from author James Van Pelt

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Author and Colorado teacher, James Van Pelt

Author and Colorado

I’m a long-time veteran of the CWP (I did all the offerings, including the summer seminar in Greeley in 1991 or ’92), and I still tell teachers they should enroll.

This will be my thirty-fifth year of teaching in western Colorado, and I was looking back at all the classes, seminars, and workshops I attended. None of them did as much for me as the CWP. When I took the summer course, I’d just finished my masters at U.C. Davis in Creative Writing. I didn’t need to be sold on the idea of teachers as writers, but it was nice to see an entire movement devoted to the idea that all teachers should write, not just so they can teach it, but because writing is a way for individuals to explore themselves.

That’s a powerful learning tool for the teachers to examine their inner lives, and it’s a powerful teaching tool to bring to the classroom.

Thank you for the work that you and all the instructional coaches bring to Colorado teachers in this powerful program.

Read Van Pelt’s latest novel, Pandora’s Gun, or find out more at jamesvanpelt.com

Here’s What Your Colleagues Are Saying About CWP

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(After CWP and CWPII) I have unconsciously become a resource for my colleagues at school. I have unique lessons and techniques to share with others, and when I question how I’m teaching writing, I can go back to my own notebook of writing from the past summers to ground myself and my teaching. I’m aching for my colleagues to experience CWP, see the potential, and understand what I’m talking about when I suggest writer’s workshop.
–Katie Clark, Salida High School, Salida, CO

Here’s what your colleagues are saying about CWP:

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Kathryn

Kathryn Presnal, Principal, The Bijou School, Colorado Springs

All members of my literacy team have attended the 2-week summer workshops offered by CWP (some have attended multiple levels).  We utilize Writers Workshop in our English courses and have found it to be an effective way of reaching our at risk students.  I am an avid writer and attended CWP in 2014. I found it to be informative and inspirational for my own writing and, most of all, a whole lot of fun!  I recommend this workshop to all educators!

Here’s what your colleagues are saying about CWP:

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Erica Rewey

Erica Rewey, Palmer High School, Colorado Springs

The Colorado Writing Project forever changed the way I taught (and learned) writing in my classroom. Our young people have so much to say, and the writers workshop not only gives them a voice, but shapes them into articulate, well-crafted writers and thinkers who can use a variety of text types and audiences to articulate their ideas most effectively. I highly recommend going through the CWP experience!