Hello All again,

Everyone is back safely from Indianapolis and it was a wonderful experience. We were well represented with a total of 15 participants. OSU Writing Project sent 9, so we won...if this were a bedlam series! The two projects met for dinner, but there were so many of us that we had to split up along the way.

OWP members have gone on to be very active in other states and we are proud to claim alumni — Joye Alberts, Cindy O’Donnell-Allen, Gail Tompkins, Beth Hammett, and Shelbie Witte.

We are able to be so active partly because of our vigorous scholarship program. We usually try to fund 10 scholarships of approximately $750 each. Last year and this year we had more applicants than funds, so one committee developed an application form and a second committee developed a rubric based on the application. We have tried to make the selection process as fair and consistent as possible.

This year we had 18 applicants for 10 spots. It was especially difficult because everyone who applied was a competent qualified TC. Those who worked on the committee have decided to release the rubric so that anyone who is interested in applying next year can maximize their score.

The process privileges those who are presenting or who are participants in one of the NWP Network initiatives — Rural Sites, Urban Sites, English Language Learners, Teacher Research, State Networking, and the E-Team (eAnthology). To a lesser degree, it also privileges first time attendees and the most recent summer institute participants.

Your application also gives you a chance to improve your score by telling us how the national convention will specifically help you be a better teacher and be a better TC. Do you want to learn more about summer writing camps? Or TC exchange programs? Or digital portfolios? Or rural sites? Or teacher research? Or technology?

Janis Cramer recently forwarded material about the various NWP intiatives and that would be a great place to start making yourself a sure-fire recipient next year — in Pittsburgh.

N.C.T.E. Has already posted a call for proposals for 2005 at

    http://www.ncte.org/announce/118762.htm

If you find fault with the application or the rubric, you can always volunteer to be on next year’s scholarship committee. Remember that this is your writing project and the more people who are involved the better we will be.

Please contact me if you have any questions or comments.

Later,
Sandra Effinger
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Technology Liaison
Oklahoma Writing Project
http://www.ou.edu/special/owp