The National Writing Project is one of many hundreds of national education initiatives that exist in this country.

Perhaps some are unnecessary, perhaps some are very wasteful, perhaps some are ineffective, perhaps some fail to create lasting change, perhaps some are poorly designed, perhaps some are simply heartless. NWP belongs to none of these categories. NWP changes lives, primarily the lives of students, and it does it by changing the lives of the teachers who teach them.

I know because it changed my life. It changed my life as a writer and a teacher and as an educator who learned that the richest improvement in our craft, our calling, comes from the shared wisdom and experiences of our colleagues.  I soon discovered that by accessing the best practices of a wide and accomplished network of passionate colleagues, my teaching improved across the board, not just my teaching of writing, though that, of course, was the entry point of the most profound change.

Education suffers no lack of professional development ideas, models, systems, products. But veteran teachers all know that much of this professional development is simply useless, mechanical, derivative, and short-term. It is rare to find a professional development system that continues to grow stronger and stronger every year, one that continues to act as a catalyst to our teaching long after our initial participation. NWP thrives on the power of connection and effective design.

At its heart NWP is a program designed to unlock our most personal voices -- and by extension the voices of our students and even, in some cases, the voices of entire communities. As such, it is a program of true empowerment for all of us. As a Native American educator, I am truly grateful to be for the National Writing Project.