[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 28, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4056-S4058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COCHRAN (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller):
  S. 1015. A bill to reauthorize the National Writing Project; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am joined by my distinguished 
colleague and friend from West Virginia, Mr. Rockefeller, in 
introducing the National Writing Project Act of 2007. The National 
Writing Project remains the only Federal program to improve the 
teaching of writing in America's classrooms.
  Writing is complex, challenging and it is a basic component of 
literacy. And, literacy is essential for success in life. A Belden 
Russonello & Stewart poll announced yesterday that overwhelmingly, 
Americans want writing taught throughout school curriculum.

[[Page S4057]]

Research shows that students taught by Writing Project demonstrate more 
improvement and higher overall writing performance than their peers.
  Writing is not confined to thesis papers, college essays, and book 
reports. Writing skills for employment in the 21st Century require not 
only the grammar, construction and analytical thought of traditional 
writing, but the skills needed to communicate effectively using new 
technology. Effective instruction in writing requires teachers with 
high ability, who continuously develop their teaching skills.
  A United States Department of Education program since 1991 and nearly 
200 nation-wide, university based sites, the National Writing Project 
annually serves over 140,000 educators through more than 7,000 
programs. It is based on a model of teachers teaching teachers: 
experienced teachers who share and develop the latest and most 
successful instruction techniques who in turn lead similar local 
workshops and training sessions for their colleagues.
  National Writing Project teachers will be here this week to tell 
their personal stories and provide other information about what the 
College Board's National Commission on Writing calls ``arguably the 
most successful teacher network in the United States.'' I hope all 
Senators will have the opportunity to visit with teachers from their 
State and I invite all Senators to join Mr. Rockefeller and me in 
sponsoring this bill.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1015

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``National Writing Project Act 
     of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The United States is facing a continuing crisis in 
     writing in schools and in the workplace.
       (2) The writing problem has been magnified by the rapidly 
     changing student population, the growing number of English 
     language learners, the increasing numbers of adolescents who 
     are low-achieving writers, the shortage of adequately trained 
     teachers, and the specialized knowledge required of teachers 
     to teach students with special needs who are now part of 
     mainstream classrooms.
       (3) Nationwide reports show that nearly one-third of high 
     school graduates are not ready for college-level English 
     composition courses.
       (4) Writing is a threshold skill for both employment and 
     promotion. Deficiencies in writing skills have resulted in 
     annual private sector costs for providing writing training 
     that are as high as $3,100,000,000.
       (5) Writing is a central feature in State and school 
     district education standards in all disciplines.
       (6) Since 1973, the only national program to address the 
     writing problem in the Nation's schools has been the National 
     Writing Project, a network of collaborative university-school 
     programs.
       (7) Evaluations of the National Writing Project document 
     significant gains in student performance in writing and 
     effective classroom practices.
       (8) The National Writing Project has become a model for 
     programs to improve teaching in such other fields as 
     mathematics, science, history, civics and government, 
     geography, reading and literature, technology, performing 
     arts, and foreign languages.
       (9) Each year, more than 135,000 teachers directly benefit 
     from National Writing Project programs in nearly 200 sites 
     located in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin 
     Islands.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT.

       Subpart 2 of part C of title II of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6701 et seq.) is 
     amended to read as follows:

                 ``Subpart 2--National Writing Project

     ``SEC. 2331. PURPOSES.

       ``The purposes of this subpart are--
       ``(1) to support and promote the expansion of the National 
     Writing Project network of sites so that teachers in every 
     region of the United States will have access to a National 
     Writing Project program;
       ``(2) to ensure the consistent high quality of the sites 
     through ongoing review, evaluation, and technical assistance;
       ``(3) to support and promote the establishment of programs 
     to disseminate effective practices and research findings 
     about the teaching of writing; and
       ``(4) to coordinate activities assisted under this subpart 
     with activities assisted under this Act.

     ``SEC. 2332. NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT.

       ``(a) Authorization.--The Secretary is authorized to award 
     a grant to the National Writing Project, a nonprofit 
     educational organization that has as its primary purpose the 
     improvement of the quality of student writing and learning 
     (hereafter in this section referred to as the `grantee`) to 
     improve the teaching of writing and the use of writing as a 
     part of the learning process in our Nation's classrooms.
       ``(b) Requirements of Grant.--The grant shall provide 
     that--
       ``(1) the grantee will enter into contracts with 
     institutions of higher education or other nonprofit 
     educational providers (hereafter in this section referred to 
     as `contractors') under which the contractors will agree to 
     establish, operate, and provide the non-Federal share of the 
     cost of teacher training programs in effective approaches and 
     processes for the teaching of writing;
       ``(2) funds made available by the Secretary to the grantee 
     pursuant to any contract entered into under this section will 
     be used to pay the Federal share of the cost of establishing 
     and operating teacher training programs as provided in 
     paragraph (1); and
       ``(3) the grantee will meet such other conditions and 
     standards as the Secretary determines to be necessary to 
     assure compliance with the provisions of this section and 
     will provide such technical assistance as may be necessary to 
     carry out the provisions of this section.
       ``(c) Teacher Training Programs.--The teacher training 
     programs described in subsection (b) shall--
       ``(1) be conducted during the school year and during the 
     summer months;
       ``(2) train teachers who teach grades kindergarten through 
     college;
       ``(3) select teachers to become members of a National 
     Writing Project teacher network whose members will conduct 
     writing workshops for other teachers in the area served by 
     each National Writing Project site; and
       ``(4) encourage teachers from all disciplines to 
     participate in such teacher training programs.
       ``(d) Federal Share.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) or 
     (3) and for purposes of subsection (b), the term Federal 
     share' means, with respect to the costs of teacher training 
     programs described in subsection (b), 50 percent of such 
     costs to the contractor.
       ``(2) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the provisions of 
     paragraph (1) on a case-by-case basis if the National 
     Advisory Board described in subsection (e) determines, on the 
     basis of financial need, that such waiver is necessary.
       ``(3) Maximum.--The Federal share of the costs of teacher 
     training programs conducted pursuant to subsection (b) may 
     not exceed $150,000 for any one contractor, or $300,000 for a 
     statewide program administered by any one contractor in at 
     least five sites throughout the State.
       ``(e) National Advisory Board.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--The National Writing Project shall 
     establish and operate a National Advisory Board.
       ``(2) Composition.--The National Advisory Board established 
     pursuant to paragraph (1) shall consist of--
       ``(A) national educational leaders;
       ``(B) leaders in the field of writing; and
       ``(C) such other individuals as the National Writing 
     Project determines necessary.
       ``(3) Duties.--The National Advisory Board established 
     pursuant to paragraph (1) shall--
       ``(A) advise the National Writing Project on national 
     issues related to student writing and the teaching of 
     writing;
       ``(B) review the activities and programs of the National 
     Writing Project; and
       ``(C) support the continued development of the National 
     Writing Project.
       ``(f) Evaluation.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct an 
     independent evaluation by grant or contract of the teacher 
     training programs administered pursuant to this subpart. Such 
     evaluation shall specify the amount of funds expended by the 
     National Writing Project and each contractor receiving 
     assistance under this section for administrative costs. The 
     results of such evaluation shall be made available to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress.
       ``(2) Funding limitation.--The Secretary shall reserve not 
     more than $150,000 from the total amount appropriated 
     pursuant to the authority of subsection (h) for fiscal year 
     2008 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years to conduct the 
     evaluation described in paragraph (1).
       ``(g) Application Review.--
       ``(1) Review board.--The National Writing Project shall 
     establish and operate a National Review Board that shall 
     consist of--
       ``(A) leaders in the field of research in writing; and
       ``(B) such other individuals as the National Writing 
     Project determines necessary.
       ``(2) Duties.--The National Review Board shall--
       ``(A) review all applications for assistance under this 
     subsection; and
       ``(B) recommend applications for assistance under this 
     subsection for funding by the National Writing Project.
       ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subpart 
     $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be 
     necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.''.

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise today to join my distinguished 
colleague, Senator Thad Cochran, in

[[Page S4058]]

sponsoring the reauthorization of the National Writing Project. We have 
worked together for many years on the wonderful program that supports 
teachers and quality writing. Senator Cochran has long been one of this 
body's strongest advocates for not only the NWP, but for education in 
general. His leadership is quiet and effective, and truly inspiring.
  The National Writing Project, NWP, provides our teachers with 
professional development to enhance their skills and in turn those 
teachers bring new skills and new enthusiasm to their classrooms and 
their students. Over 141,000 educators annually go through the NWP and 
become invaluable resources to millions of children nationwide. The NWP 
is at the forefront in the efforts to improve our schools for teachers 
and students.
  The NWP is not only a great idea in theory but it has a record of 
success by consistently delivering results that can be seen in our 
classrooms. Students in NWP classrooms have shown demonstrably improved 
ability to organize and develop ideas in writing. A study published in 
January 2006 concluded that students whose teachers underwent NWP 
training uniformly demonstrated positive results.
  Every State participates in the program. West Virginia has benefited 
tremendously from this program. The three sites in my State are Central 
West Virginia Writing Project, Marshall University Graduate College in 
South Charleston, the Marshall University Writing Project in 
Huntington, and the National Writing Project at West Virginia 
University in Morgantown. I am particularly proud of the leadership at 
Marshall University on its Technology Project to explore ways to better 
integrate technology into writing and classroom education. During the 
2005-2006 school year the NWP conducted more than 140 programs serving 
over 3,000 teachers.
  The NWP is a perfect example of how the public and the private sector 
should work in partnership to improve our society. The NWP operating 
budget comes not only from the Federal Government but from in kind 
contribution from colleges and universities.
  Programs like the NWP are an essential part strengthening our 
education system, and it deserves our continued support.
                                 ______