Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           www.selu.edu/NewsEvents
    Date: 4/18/97
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple  46

Editors: Photo accompanies release
SLU ONE OF SIX IN NATION TO RECEIVE WRITING GRANT
     HAMMOND -- The Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project at Southeastern Louisiana
University is one of six National Writing Project affiliates selected to participate in  Rural
Voices, Country Schools,  a program designed to improve the teaching of writing in the nation's
rural schools.
     Funded by the Annenberg Foundation, Rural Voices, Country Schools is dedicated to
telling the stories of  good  rural schools. Southeastern Writing Project Director Richard Louth, a
member of the Southeastern English Department faculty, said Southeastern will receive $14,000
per year for three years to build a "rural network of teachers" who will research, document, and
share good teaching practices in rural areas. The other five National Writing Project sites selected
for the new program are located in Arizona, Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and
Washington.
     "The SLU Writing Project was chosen from a highly competitive field of applicants,
based partly on its outstanding record of working with rural schools in this area," the National
Writing Project said. "Through its extensive program of inservice workshops and its annual
Summer Writing Institute for teachers, the site has demonstrated a long commitment to rural
teachers and students."
     Louth said 14 teachers have been chosen for the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project's
Rural Voices, Country Schools network. The teachers were selected from among the 125 local
educators who have participated in the  Southeast Louisiana Writing Project since it was
                                 (MORE) 
RURAL VOICES, COUNTRY SCHOOLS -- Add One 
established at SLU in 1992. 
     Seven of the 14 teachers will attend the first meeting of Rural Voices, Country Schools
participants at Walker Creek Ranch, California, in June. Dr. Susan Wren, co-director of the
Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project, will coordinate Southeastern's participation in the
program and will accompany the teachers to California. 
     Chosen as primarily participants were Linda Green, William Pitcher Junior High,
Covington; Leslie Gilliland, Clearwood Junior High School, Slidell; Lynne Vance,
Loranger Middle School; Percy T. Donald, St. Helena Central High School, Greensburg;
Barbara Chitwood, Franklinton High School; Mary Beth Crovetto, Ponchatoula High
School; and Christa B. Allan, Fountainbleau High School, Mandeville.
     Chosen as partners-alternates were Luora Ficklin, Albany Middle School; Beth
Skipper, SLU Lab School, Hammond; Beth Calloway, SLU English Department; Joan
Anderson, SLU English Department; Gerri Sommers, William Pitcher Junior High School;
Toni Tageant, Franklinton High School, and Ida James, E.E. Lyons Elementary,
Covington.
     Over the next three years, NWP teams will gather information about good rural schools
and their communities. The data will allow them to design strategies for strengthening rural
education in America. "We are very excited about the possibilities," Louth said. 
     Dean John Miller of Southeastern's College of Arts and Sciences said Southeastern is
particularly happy about the rural focus of the program and about its parental and community
involvement elements. "Over the past six years, we have built a solid foundation of collaboration
with area teachers. We're happy to be able to further it through the Rural Voices, Country
Schools Program," Miller said.
                                 - SLU -
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