Spring Leadership Institute

How can reflecting on my teaching help me ask questions to improve my practice? 

How do I navigate unfettered student access to technology such as ChatGPT in my teaching practice? How can teachers use technology productively to encourage equitable outcomes? 

How can language be used in a classroom to empower or disempower students? How can students’ native languages be valued in school? 

How can I help students become more confident and effective writers and readers? What writing-to-learn and critical reading strategies can I use to help my students develop their content knowledge and understanding? 

Spring Leadership Institute will take place at Westfield State University during spring 2025 on Thursday from 4:30-7 online. At the conclusion of the 2024-2025 school year, we will meet for a two-day retreat on Thursday June 25 and Friday June 27 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

We bring together a community of educators who engage in two projects:

• Teacher Action Research - each educator identifies a problem, issue, or wondering about their classroom and/or practice and conducts research related to that problem. After proposing a guiding research question, teachers will become the researchers as they explore potential answers in their own classrooms.
• Teachers as Writers - through their own personal writing experiences, teachers recenter themselves both as educators and people. Teachers get exposed to a range of writing pedagogy and their work is published in our 2025 Spring Leadership Institute Anthology.

SLI participants meet four times throughout the 2025-26 academic year to share progress on their research, ask for support, and continue to build a professional community as they prepare for the Best Practices Conference.

Held in the Spring, the Western Mass Writing Project Best Practice Conference is a one-day professional conference in which participants in the previous year’s SLI present their work. Teachers from all over the region are invited as our SLI participants become leaders in their field.

Anyone interested in K-16 who is teaching writing who is a practicing or soon-to-be practicing teacher. You simply need to be interested in using (and reflecting on how you are using) writing in your classroom.

• Sustaining a professional community: The opportunity to interact with a range of educators from all over the state who teach from K-16 helps to cultivate a sense of community and shared knowledge. 
• Mentorship: Not only are participants supported by the course leaders during the SLI and TAR, but they are introduced to a vast network of clearly dedicated teachers who are invested in learning new strategies and trying out different approaches.   
• Renewal: Teachers in the SLI self-report feeling encouraged by PD that is teacher-led and teacher-focused, and they enter the school year re-engaged and ready to try out a new approach.  Each year, those who attend Best Practices leave feeling reconnected and reassured by conversations they have with other practicing teachers.  They have more tools and ways to think about using writing in their classrooms.

Yes.  Those who are interested in taking the SLI for graduate credit earn 3 credits for the SLI (which extends throughout spring semester 25) and 3 credits for the Teacher Action Research project.  Teachers collect data and meet periodically with their SLI cohort and leaders throughout the fall 25 semester and into spring of 26.

Yes. Instead of earning graduate credits, teachers can take the SLI and the TAR for a total of 135 pdps (67.5 for each).

Yes. Teachers can elect to take an additional 9 credits and earn a Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing.  The 15 credits you earn through the certificate can be applied toward a Master’s Degree and/or professional licensure.

Both the SLI and TAR are graduate courses and if taken for graduate credit, each course costs $1,254.00, for a total cost of $2,508.00.  If you take them for PDPs, each course costs $750.00 for a total cost of $1,500.00.

This link will take you to our registration page and more information about our certificate program, including possible elective classes for the certificate.