Looking Across Our 35 Years
“Nineteen seventy-four was a big year for writing education in America. That summer, at the first summer institute of the first writing project site in the country, Jim Gray put into action a radically new idea about teacher education—that successful classroom teachers make the best teachers of other teachers.” Art Peterson, Bay Area Writing Project Teacher Consultant, 1981 and 1985
“I knew that the knowledge successful teachers had gained through their experience and practice in the classroom was not tapped, sought after, shared, or for the most part, even known about. I knew also that if there was ever going to be reform in American education, it was going to take place in the nation’s classrooms. And because teachers and no one else—were in those classrooms, I knew that for reform to succeed, teachers had to be at the center. It became a burning issue with me that teachers were not seen as the key players in reform or as true experts on what went on in their classrooms." James Gray, from Teachers at The Center
Look across the 35-year history of the California Writing Project through artifacts, pictures, and downloadable articles. Check back for additions that flesh out our history and extend the timeline.
TIMELINE
To explore the historical sections of the timeline,
click on the years that are highlighted in blue.
1973-1975
The beginnings of the Bay Area Writing Project, California Writing Project, and National Writing Project
"Teachers at the Center: A Memoir of the Early Years of the National Writing Project," by James Gray, The Quarterly, Fall 2000
(download PDF copy)
"James Gray On Coaching: An Excerpt from Teachers at the Center," The Voice, May-June 2001
(download PDF copy)
“Why Johnny Can’t Write,” Newsweek, December 8, 1975
Note page 62 for a first national mention of the Bay Area Writing Project.
(download PDF copy)
The late 70’s and 1980’s
Co-Constructing a knowledge base for the teaching of writing
1982
Jim Gray collaborates with the American Association for School Administrators on Teaching Writing: Problems and Solutions, a precursor to Because Writing Matters and The Neglected R. Note on page 61 of the excerpt that CWP was already comprised of 17 local writing projects and a growing NWP included another 68 sites in 40 states.
The 1980’s into the early 90’s
Collaborating with the California Department of Education to improve writing programs and writing assessment
The 1990's
Creating portfolio classrooms and assessments
1995
Revisiting writing theories and practices of the first 20 years
1999-2000
CWP at 25 years
2005
A sign of the digital times to come: writing projects move to on-line and in-print publishing
2006
Building on Jim Gray’s legacy