The Lehigh Valley Writing Project (LVWP) will host its annual Best Practices Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29 at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Fogelsville.
The conference features interactive workshops and presentations for teachers to share professional teaching practices. The keynote presentation, "What Student Writing Teaches Us: Reflections on How our Students can be our Best Teachers," will be given by Mark Overmeyer, author of books including, "When Writing Workshop Isn't Working" and "What Student Writing Teaches Us" (Stenhouse). Overmeyer also will sign copies of his books during the conference.
Overmeyer is a native of Colorado and received his education at the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado College, and the University of Colorado at Denver (UCD). He has 27 years of teaching experience, all in the Cherry Creek Schools near Denver. He has worked as a classroom teacher in second through eighth grades, a half-time special education/Title I teacher, and a coordinator for gifted programming in a middle school. Overmeyer currently works as a literacy coordinator for Cherry Creek, and in the summer he co-directs the National Writing Project site at UCD. He is currently working on a book and a video about conferences in the writing workshop.
The cost of the conference is $55 and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. The deadline for registration is Jan. 26. To register for the conference, or for a complete conference schedule, visit www.lvwp.org.
Based at Penn State Lehigh Valley's campus in Center Valley, the Lehigh Valley Writing Project is a National Writing Project program dedicated to developing literacy and communication skills. LVWP offers a variety of programs including:
-- Professional development workshops, including teacher in-service programs
-- Penn State graduate credit courses
-- Continuing education seminars
-- The Summer Institute, the cornerstone of every National Writing Project site
-- Summer writing camps for young writers
-- Outreach programs led by LVWP fellows
For more information, visit the www.lvwp.org, or contact Nancy Coco, at 610-285-5026 or nxc4@psu.edu.