Jacalyn Amant, Lawrence Gillick, Erin Verhagen, Maggie Schumacher, Alyse Karls, William Schliewe, Marlys Greenhalgh, Gary Frisch and Emily Arendsee

Amant and her colleagues’ innovative teaching idea, “Write Now!,” is designed to inspire students at all grade levels to practice critical writing, reading, and analyzing skills as they create and edit prose, poetry, non-fiction, and visual arts for a student-designed district publication. This project will give middle and high school students responsibility and accountability as they work to select, proofread, and edit manuscripts; design the layout of the magazine; and mentor elementary students throughout the writing process. Monthly topics will also encourage independence and critical real-world connections for students. The project will unify themes and invite cross-curricular involvement and broaden student participation as well as showcase writing in other languages. Students will also conduct interviews for pieces about community members, showcase the magazine in local businesses, and connect with community members to invite them to write submissions.