[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S1633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COCHRAN:
  S. 403. A bill to improve the National Writing Project; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr President, today, I am introducing legislation 
reauthorizing the National Writing Project, the only Federal program to 
improve the teaching of writing in America's classrooms.
  Literacy is at the foundation of school and workplace success, of 
citizenship in a democracy, and of learning in all disciplines. The 
National Writing Project has been instrumental in helping teachers 
develop better teaching skills so they can help our children improve 
their ability to read, write, and think.
  The National Writing Project is a twenty-seven-year old national 
network of university-based teacher training programs designed to 
improve the teaching of writing and student achievement in writing and 
has had federal support since 1991. Successful writing teachers attend 
Invitational Summer Institutes at their local universities. During the 
school year these teachers provide workshops for other teachers in the 
schools. At 167 sites in 49 states, the National Writing Project trains 
over 100,000 teachers every year.
  The program has become a national model for other disciplines and is 
now recognized by the Department of Education as an important part of 
national education policy. The program also generates an average of 
$6.32 in private, state, and local funds for every federal dollar 
appropriated. The National Writing Project is making teachers better at 
their jobs.
  I introduced the National Writing Project Act for the first time in 
1990. Since then, I have worked with other Senators to ensure that it 
has remained a program that supports states and local schools in their 
efforts to have better teachers. Last Congress when I introduced this 
bill, it was cosponsored by 52 Senators. I hope it will receive even 
greater support in the 107th Congress. I invite other Senators to join 
me in sponsoring this legislation.
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