NEW YORK — Six teachers have been awarded the fifth annual College Board Bob Costas Grants for the Teaching of Writing. The grants recognize exceptional teachers for using innovative methods to inspire their students to write. The award was created to support teachers and to thank Bob Costas, the Emmy Award–winning broadcaster and author, for his generous public service work on behalf of the National Commission on Writing. Each winner receives a grant of $3,000.
“We are honored to recognize these exceptional teachers for their innovative practices and for the powerful impact they are having on the lives of young people,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “Writing is a difficult subject to teach, but a critical skill for success in college and the workplace. We applaud these teachers for going above and beyond the call of duty to demonstrate the value of strong writing skills.”
One grant recipient or teaching team was selected from each of the College Board’s six regions:
Midwestern Region: Keri Grady, an English teacher at Saint Martin de Porres High School in Cleveland, Ohio, teaches multimedia journalism. Her students write and produce stories to educate their audience and illustrate their perspective on contemporary issues. Her curriculum includes oral history projects and writing children’s books to learn about narratives. The students develop presentations in print, broadcast and electronic media, and publish on the Internet using websites, blogs, a community wiki, podcasts, and streaming audio and video. “Embedding writing tasks within an engaging task like video production is like shredding veggies into the brownie mix — sneaky, but effective,” she said.
Middle States Region: Nancy Kaplan is a world journalism teacher at the College of Staten Island High School for International Studies, which is located in New York City. Kaplan’s students collaborate with student-writers from other nations to produce an international report on topics including the war in Iraq, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and teen life in various cultures. Students from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Belarus, Switzerland and Germany have contributed articles to the school publication, The International Insider, on subjects ranging from global warming to a profile about a local poet. To prepare for their writing and editing work, students in Kaplan’s classes study journalistic writing, narrative nonfiction, rhetoric and interviewing techniques. They learn about the production process, from pitching a story to seeing it published.
Southwestern Region: Lynne Dozier, an AP® English Language and Composition teacher at Klein Forest High School in Houston, Texas, sponsors the student art and literature anthology called the Aquilas Stilus, which means “the eagle’s pen” in Latin. The student publication is in its 17th year, and manuscripts are chosen in order to reflect the diverse voices and creative talents across the high school. Each edition involves more than 300 students, who act as editors and staff members, writers and artists. More than 300 copies of the anthology are distributed each year to students, patrons, teachers and administrators. The anthology is also entered in regional and national contests.
Western Region: Eric Gutierrez of Whitney High School in Cerritos, Calif., uses blogging to encourage his seventh-grade history students to organize and articulate their ideas about historical and current events. Posting their work online gives added incentive, he said, for students to improve their critical thinking and writing skills. When the students present facts and analysis in each assignment, they benefit from constructive criticism offered by their peers. This grant will help Gutierrez expand to an international collaborative website for students around the world to share their writing on historical and contemporary subjects.
Southern Region: Gabriel Ortiz, education program director at Oasis Middle School in Bradenton, Fla., developed writing as an outlet for students attending the charter school. Ortiz leads two major projects in the Writing Workshop at Oasis: a school book and a theatre production. The school book, Seen but Not Heard, allows students to share personal stories. The book is used as a fundraiser and also as a mentor text for other children. The theatrical series, Take! is a drama production examining issues teens are facing.
New England Region: Patricia Pflaumer, an English Language Arts teacher at Abington High School in Abington, Mass., leads an effort called Students Write to Be Heard, or SW2BH. The goal she sets for her students is for them to have written work published during the school year, whether in a literary magazine, school newspaper, or writing conference or contest. Through Students Write to Be Heard, Pflaumer’s students learn about the query and editing process. They develop writing skills as well as confidence and pride in their talents, especially when they are recognized outside of class.
The National Writing Commission
The College Board established the National Commission on Writing in 2002 to create more national support for the teaching of writing. Costas, an eight-time Sportscaster of the Year, has supported the commission’s work by producing a national public service announcement encouraging young people to develop strong writing skills. Teachers of grades 6–12 from any discipline, in both public and nonpublic schools, are eligible for the Bob Costas Grants, as are writing programs that take place within schools or the community. For more details about the annual award program, visit www.collegeboard.com/costasgrants.
Contact
Sandra Riley, The College Board, 212-713-8052, communications@collegeboard.org