(Notes by Janet Martin)

MEMBERS PRESENT:

 
1.  Old Business: 

Radio Program: Finally done after 3 years

Heart of Meeting Renewing, Recharging, Regenerating

4 Basic Programs:   What’s working?  What should we be doing?

Summer Institute 2006: 2 new co-directors worked well--Vernessa Drake and Shanan Mills

Byron Darnall: Update on state Writing Advisory Committee--
Getting feedback from across state to revise.  Test itself is still in the midst of change.  Presenting drafts of materials in the handbooks.  Development of portfolio at all levels has changed.  Push to keep the portfolio worked.  Change in weighting of On-Demand and portfolio.  Want us to remove the use of “portfolio” pieces in the classroom.  Districts are now going to be required to keep a cumulative folder that travels with students throughout their career.  Getting back to what was intended with the start of portfolios. 

General Discussion:  Major concerns about On-Demand.  Where are the samples?  Past focus has been on writing process.  Now 50% of the focus is on On-Demand in a high-stakes situation.  Some principals, districts focusing too much time, on On-Demand, saying “Write 1 On-Demand per week in each core area.” 

Be patient.  We don’t have to know everything to start with.  Be as positive as possible.  Keep teaching good writing skills, don’t worry about assessment as much.

Molly Wade:  Cluster Leader Training

Janet Martin:  Writing Project has a focus group looking at what are the changes in assessment, etc.  writing an article, developing resources to help teachers in the classroom.  Resources will be available online.

NKU Oct. 14—Statewide WP Fall Conference on Literacy

2.  Breakout Sessions focused on Continuity, Inservice, Evaluation, and Summer Institute:  What’s Working?  What do we need to reinvision?

3. Report Back From

A.  Community/Teacher Leadership—

• Super Saturday connection 3 hr sessions on Sat.  Parents/Grandparents or Teachers:  Book Clubs, How to Encourage Your Writing Child        Contact Julia Roberts—Molly Wade in charge.
• Oral Histories—Stories of Western Kentucky—gathering oral family history, community history, get it published, or on Rural Sites Radio, (sounds like the weekly Mississippi WP radio project)  Advanced institute?  Special Workshop?  Radio program (don’t groan John J), tie to technology, stories,
• Retreat ideas:  family retreat?  Don’t think too big.  Do we have to have 15 people?  Is 5 enough? Speaker to connect to a retreat?
• Speakers in April?  Continue that?  Who would we have?  We love it.  Mitchell Tolle? Inspirational teacher talks about the value of teachers.  Has a gallery in Berea.  Jeffrey Wilhelm?  Gender Gaps?  Ralph Fletcher?

B.  Inservice/Outreach

Past:  Molly, Laura, Anne:  New Writing Guidelines Laura has done a training in Hart County & at GHS.  Traditional Workshop & during planning

Molly Attended training session on training cluster leaders.

Tammy Stephens did a whole day in Bullitt Co.

Talk up/advertise/attend

• Sept. 23 Wayland Alexander Elementary—K-12 Carol W. Larissa H. Debbie Fowler  Gender Gaps, Embedding Arts in classroom, Poetry for reluctant reader & writer. 
• Oct. 28 BGHS 9-4 Byron Darnall—personal writing, reluctant writers, bringing the reluctant writer out 7-12.  Travis Meserve—writing with ESL students.  3hrs. or 6 hrs. $40 for 3 hrs. $65 for 6 hrs. Bring a paying customer & project people get in free.
• Elm. School in Lex. Wants someone to come to school Writing Process/Portfolios during the day 4 days.  Oct. 13, Dec. 4, Feb. 5, Mar. 12.  Want the same person all 4 days Mary Dillingham?  Summer Craig?  Sharon Stokes?  Cindy Cole?
• College credit hours—workshops that are extended and end up as class credit for college. 
• New teacher training, ongoing, college credit, contacting districts that train new teachers & working with them.  E-mail to DAC?  Instructional Supervisors?  Principals?  Offer our services to them.
• Have bonuses for presenters who bring in more people? 
•  Invite superintendents to the end luncheon at the end of summer.

C.  Summer Institute

• Summer institute set up well.  Partnership demonstrations great.  Bring back fellows from the past to answer questions/panel.  Vertical teaming?  Experienced fellows coming back for mini lessons.  Pairing up fellows with participants to be coaches to help fellows, not consultants, mentors to help out & encourage new project participants.  Help fellows meet new project participants.  Demonstrations could use fellows work with new TC?

• Fall?  Do we need to do more for new TC? 

D.  Evaluation Studies

Designing surveys to send all project fellows to collect data about WP impact on Leadership, Classroom Practice, and Lifelong Learning to be sent both through mail & available online. 

4.  Responsibilities Undertaken by next meeting: January 27, 2007  Cherry Hall 9 am  to 12 noon

Angie Skaggs—send out information

John Hagaman—work on speaker for may, explore college credit, Julia Roberts

Janet Martin—surveys, focus group, article for newsletter

Molly Wade—get with Laura Houchens, bring her up to speed, try to fill need for Lex. School,

Ann Nance—promote workshops, HS middle & middle school, write a brief article for newsletter about “Let’s Work”

Shannon Mills—new brochure, collecting data for WP, will help crunch #’s

Cindy Cole—share info about workshops, help Molly with Lexington, edit survey draft

Michelle McCloughan—collaborate/vertical team E/M/H, new teacher training Sept. 23    

Rich Haynes—get the word out on training, try to get someone from my school to go to summer institute, NBCT work

Yvonne Bartley—advanced inst meeting next month, share & get feedback, will put on a workshop in Jan. or Feb.

Dwight Holder—present mini-lesson on science writing to summer inst. (suggestion)

Cheryl Gilstrap—talk to Vicki Cook about integrating WP people, write small article for newsletter

Anne Padilla—vertical collaboration, talk to Joe T. about connecting analytical, NCTE reading/writing, talk to new teachers about doing the writing project

Linda Martin—get information out, encourage teachers with new scoring guides

Byron Darnall—present workshop Sept. 28, present at NCTE