Invitational Leadership Institute

For nearly 50 years, the National Writing Project has been honoring and enhancing teacher work through its highly regarded Invitational Leadership Institutes.  The Shenandoah Valley Writing Project has continued this tradition of developing teachers as Teacher Consultants with the Writing Project since 2014. The model is based on the philosophy that the best teachers of teachers are teachers themselves.

Each year, the SVWP selects up to 20 talented pre-K-University educators from all disciplines for the Invitational Institutes and invites them to share their best practices with their peers.

At the Institute, teachers:

  • present and demonstrate approaches to the teaching of writing or using writing as a learning tool
  • examine issues in the teaching of writing
  • improve the use of writing to deepen and extend learning in all curricular areas
  • study current and past research in the field
  • write in various modes and from different points of view, including a position paper on teaching and using writing to improve instruction

Location: Offered in a HYBRID format for 2023 with an option to zoom into meetings from a distance.


The 2023 Schedule is below.
Please read before considering your interest and availability for the Institute.

June 26-30
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: synchronous Online from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m daily with asynchronous afternoons from 1:00 -4:00 p.m.
Tuesday & Thursday: In person on the Shenandoah University campus 9:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m
Daily Lunch break 12:00-1:00 

ONE WEEK BREAK FROM JULY 1-9

July 10 – 21
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: synchronous online 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.daily with asynchronous afternoons from 1:00 -4:00 p.m.
Tuesday & Thursday: In person on the Shenandoah University campus 9:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m
Daily Lunch break 12:00-1:00

Graduate Credit Earned:

Fellows earn six graduate credits in either Writing or Education (equal to 180 VA recertification points). Participant choice.

Cost:  $2200    Most schools and/or districts pay full tuition. Limited scholarships are available.

To apply please complete the following:

  • Completed application, accessed and completed online. Follow one of the buttons on this page.
  • The application includes a place to describe your interest in the Institute and ways you feel the Institute can be of benefit
  • Two recommendations, also fulfilled online. Include one recommendation from a colleague and one from a supervisor.

Applicants are urged to apply between November and April. 
Applications received after April 15 will be considered on a space-available basis only.

Interviews:

Applicants will be invited to interview on an afternoon in March or April in an online Zoom session.

Notification Date:

Accepted fellows will be notified by May 15.

Congratulations!
The newest SVWP Teacher Consultants:

Director: Leslie Shea Perry, SVWP Co-Director

  • Marci Andrews, J. Lupton Simpson Middle School
  • Emily Brown, Peter Muhlenberg Middle School
  • Dawn Buehler, Millbrook High School
  • Richard Decker, Amherst Education Center
  • Michelle Fischette, Mount Vernon Woods Elementary
  • Anne “Penny” Hagerty, Loudoun Valley High School
  • Jodi Henry, Loudoun Valley High School
  • Amy Hepner, Daniel Morgan Middle School
  • Brandon Lamma, Peter Muhlenberg Middle School
  • Traci Mellor, Fauquier High School
  • Ebtissam Oraby, George Washington University
  • Jeff Rudy, Loudoun County High School
  • Tiya Shaw, Salem Elementary School
  • Rebecca Walter, Loudoun Valley High School

Staff: Samuel Gesford, Robert E. Aylor Middle School
Robin Frost, Fauquier High School
Paul Anderson, Warren County High School

Congratulations to the most recent Teacher Consultants of the SVWP from the 2019-20 Year Round Institute

Congratulations to the SVWP’s latest TCs!

They weathered a whole year, ending with flying colors in the middle of a pandemic. Cheers!
Left to right beginning at the top with staff in parentheses: Ashlee Himes, Central High School; (Mary Tedrow, Beth Buerkel); Katy Greiner, Rock Ridge High School; Todd Wargo, Central High School; Amanda Burton, Daniel Morgan Intermediate School; Jennifer DiMarco, Garland R. Quarles Elementary; Sonja Sneddon, Bass Hoover Elementary; Maureen Mahoney, John F. Kennedy Middle School; Sarah Moehl, M.M. Pierce Elementary; Paul Anderson, Warren County High School; (Star Friend), Allison Beck-Watson, Floyd T. Binns Middle School; Aaron Cosner, Harrisonburg High School.

Teacher Consultants from 2018-19

Kristen Bredice, Harmony Middle School
Samuel McClain, Rock Ridge High School
Kimberly Peterson, Winchester Public Schools
Richelle Riley, James G. Brumfield Elementary
Ashley Scott, Garland R. Quarles Elementary
Sara Dashner, Frederick Douglass Elementary
Jordan Vachon, Garland R. Quarles Elementary
Lisa Williamson, Garland R. Quarles Elementary
Tessie Mogule, Garland R. Quarles Elementary

Teacher Consultants from the
2018 Summer Institute

Director: Susan Fiatte McGilvray, SVWP Co-Director

Lori Abbott, A.S. Rhodes Elementary School
Patrick Ayers, Rock Ridge High School
Tracy Bailey, Brambleton Middle School
Jessie Beard, Marshall Middle School
Paige Cox, Loudoun Valley High School
Brendan Erb, Skyline Middle School
Michael Fannin, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School
Crystal Gage, John Handley High School
Kelly Kwolek, Warrenton Middle School
Mary Lee, Blue Ridge Elementary School
Ellen Martin, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School
Karla Pino, Daniel Morgan Middle School
Emily Shafer, John Kerr Elementary School
Stacey Yost, Daniel Morgan Middle School

Staff: Shabana Shah, Sugarland Elementary School
Shea Finny, Loudoun Valley High School

2017-18 Teacher Consultants

Director: Mary Tedrow

Irene Asuncion Moulton, Rock Ridge High School
Patricia Berrian, J. Michael Lunsford Middle School
Felisa Cupps, Tuscarora High School
Elizabeth Davis, Winchester Public Schools
Danielle DeChristopher, Garland R. Quarles Elementary
Amanda Estep, Garland R. Quarles Elementary
Samantha Gates, Winchester Public Schools
Amanda Harrington, Mountain Vista Governor’s School
Joyce Householder, Garland R. Quarles Elementary
Tara Lockhart, Garland R. Quarles Elementary
Louise E. Mann, Dominion High School
Susan Newman, Rock Ridge High School
Mallory Simon, Frederick County Middle School
Seth Stahler, Garland R. Quarles Elementary

Staff:
Dee Dee Livesay
, Banneker Elementary School
Rebecca Schwier
,  M. M. Pierce Elementary School

*Read Meghann Donohue’s reflection on the Year-Round Institute.

2017 Teacher Consultants

Fellows

Director: Laura Tucker, SVWP Co-Director

Sarah Andino, James G. Brumfield Elementary
Beth Buerkel, Daniel Morgan Middle School
Teresa Cave, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School
Michelle Coleman, North Fork Middle School
Nicole Daquilante, Red Bud Run Elementary School
Star Friend, John Handley High School
Samuel Gesford, North Fork Middle School
Laura Hughes, Blue Ridge Elementary School
Camille Murphy, Harmony Middle School
Moriah Rush, E. Wilson Morrison Elementary
Alice “Katy” Schain, Daniel Morgan Middle School
Shabana Shah, Sugarland Elementary School
Marianne Sutton, Marshall Middle School
Jeanette Wolffe, James G. Brumfield Elementary

Staff:
Damon Laabs, Trailside Middle School
Shea Finny, Loudoun Valley High School

SVWP Teacher Consultants
Inaugural Year-Round Institute of 2017-18

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Director: Mary Tedrow

Jaclyn Azat, Trailside Middle School
Heather Campbell, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School
Jennifer Eppard-Morgan, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School
Sarah Fitzgerald, Eastern View High School
Margaret Humphries, Potomac Senior High School
Robert Kilby, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School
Paul Koch, Rock Ridge High School
Beth Konkoski, Broad Run High School
Heather Lark-Rickard, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School
Marina Levi, Tuscarora High School
Dee Dee Livesay, Daniel Morgan Middle School

Staff:
Meghann Donohue, Harmony Middle School
Nicole Kaylan, Dominion High School

SVWP Teacher Consultants
Class of 2016

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Director: Mary Tedrow, SVWP Director

Carissa Altizer, Sandy Hook Middle School
John Applin, Capon Bridge Elementary
Danielle Bostick, John Handley High School
Melanie Catron, Warren County Middle School
Emelie Duke Colmery, Creighton’s Corner Elementary School
Nicole Korsen, Dominion High School
Damon Laabs, Trailside Middle School
Lisa Larkin, P.B. Smith Elementary School
Jacqueline Mutz, Rock Ridge High School
Timothy “Chip” Newcome, John Handley High School
Rebecca Schwier,  M. M. Pierce Elementary School
Marianne Tomasic, Shepherdstown Middle School

Staff:
Donna Michael, Johnson-Williams Middle School
Terrence Donohue, Clarke County High School
Mary Tedrow, Director

Inaugural 2015 Teacher Consultants for the
Shenandoah Valley Writing Project

Inaugural SVWP Summer Institute 2015

Bethany Burroughs, Liberty High School
Jennifer Cherry, Trailside Middle School
Terence Donohue, Clarke County High School
Rosella Fonte, Douglass Alternative School
Matthew Giddens, Trailside Middle School
Rebekah Hess, Rock Ridge High School
Christopher Humenik, Warren County High School
Donna Michael, Johnson-Williams Middle School
Sarah Schiavo, Harmony Middle School
Amy Snapp, James Wood High School
Joseph Svoboda, John Kerr Elementary School
Michelle Ward, Stone Hill Middle School
Jaqueline Weitman, Signal Knob Middle School
Christine Welch, Signal Knob Middle School

The 2014 Invitational Summer Institute held
at John Handley High School

Directors: Susan McGilvray and Laura Tucker:

Rhonda Alley, Douglass School, Leesburg, VA
Julie Cacciola, Douglass School, Leesburg, VA
Julie Constantino, Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart Elementary, Winchester, VA
Meghann Donohue, Harmony Middle School, Hamilton, VA
Jennifer Warner Howells, Skyline High School, Front Royal, VA
Nicole Kaylan, Dominion High School, Sterling, VA
Mallory Skarupa, Central High School, Woodstock, VA
Margaret Stokes, Belmont Ridge Middle School, Leesburg, VA
Amy Thomas, Frederick Douglass Elementary, Winchester, VA

4 thoughts on “Invitational Leadership Institute

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  1. As English Department Chair at Loudoun Valley High School, I wish to register four of my staff members for the Fall Learn to Write Conference, Sept. 23, 2017. I cannot, however, locate a link to registration. Also, one of the participants is Shea Finny, who served as one of your summer teachers; will she be required to pay tuition? Please contact me so that I may proceed. Thank you!

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    1. Hello Marcia,
      We do not yet have a link active for registration. We simply hoped to advertise the date while we waited for confirmation of our Keynote speaker. We should have a link active in the next two weeks and that information will be forthcoming (where and how to register).
      Shea will be attending independently because the teachers she has coached will be presenting. So plan on registering the three teachers rather than four when we have our registration page up. Thank you so much for your query.

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