Welcome
The San Antonio Writing Project (SAWP) is an official National Writing Project site. It is supported by financial and professional resources of the University of Texas at San Antonio and the local school districts of San Antonio. The SAWP, currently celebrating its 14th year, supports teachers from all over San Antonio and celebrates the professionalism, expertise, and talent of our state’s educators.
In keeping with the National Writing Project model, SAWP is based on the belief that teachers are the key to education reform, teachers make the best teachers of other teachers, and teachers benefit from studying and conducting research. As such, the following are the primary goals of the site:
- To improve students’ writing abilities by improving the teaching and learning of writing in the nation’s schools,
- Provide professional development programs for classroom teachers,
- Expand the professional roles of teachers.
The National Writing Project, founded at the University of California Berkeley in 1973, is a nationwide professional development program for teachers devoted to improving the teaching of writing and learning from kindergarten through college. The NWP receives federal funding which it currently grants to nearly 200 local sites in 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Collectively, these sites serve approximately 100,000 teachers every year, in all grades, in all disciplines. NWP has been named one of the most cost-efficient, effective professional development programs in the history of our country.
- Invitational Institute: intensive deep inquiry seminar in which teachers examine their classroom practices, study the latest research about teaching writing, develop their identities as a writer, and become leaders within an expanding network of a diverse writing community.
- Development Workshops: shorter sessions tailored to a variety of specific teacher interests, varying in length, topic, focus, and delivery method (online, in-person, etc.). At the center of all workshops is a focus on the best in contemporary theory and practice and a belief in active participation to support teachers as they build skills in both teaching and writing.
- Inservice Programs: custom-designed professional development packages based on meeting specific district goals and needs that are grounded in research and current professional literature and provide practical classroom-tested strategies in reading, writing, and assessment practices.
- Youth Outreach and Engagement: opportunities that afford student participation in writing initiatives that develop the critical, creative, and collaborative skills required by citizens to help the broader good of the community of which they are a part of. These initiatives encompass diverse communication processes including the use of technology, which are imperative to critical media literacies and new literacy studies.
Leadership Board
Sean Danweber | Teacher-Consultant (he/him)
Advanced Learning Academy, San Antonio Independent School District
San Antonio Writing Project since 2011
Allison Dunsmore | Teacher-Consultant (she/her)
Central Texas Writing Project since 2020
Heathcliff Lopez | Teacher-Consultant (he/him)
MacArthur High School, North East Independent School District
Heart of Texas Writing Project since 2014
Chris Navaro | Teacher-Consultant (he/him)
Director of School and Community Programs,
The DoSeum Central Texas Writing Project since 2004
Troy Wilson | Teacher-Consultant (he/him)
Alamo Heights Junior School, Alamo Heights Independent School District
San Antonio Writing Project since 2011
Upcoming Workshops and Series
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This 60-minute synchronous session will invite participants to consider how they use the beginning and end of a writing process cycle to explore and support student's voice.
In this session, we look into the notion of dialogic voice and how our writing (and thus, voice) is influenced by our sociocultural contexts.
In this session, we will explore possibilities of where voice in writing comes from. How do we help students engage with their authentic voice by helping them tap into their existing literacies?
San Antonio Writing Project
Contact Us
1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249
210-458-5969
