Stay Connected
One of the best parts of becoming a CUWP Fellow is the chance to reconnect with a growing community of over 200 educators excited about their continuous growth as educators and writers. We invite all Fellows to engage with each other and with the Project by participating in any or all of the opportunities listed below. Be sure we have your updated contact information, as we will send invitations for each of the following from cuwp@byu.edu throughout the year.
CUWP Reunion Day
Return for a day to the CUWP Summer Institute to rejuvenate and reconnect with past Fellows and meet the incoming group of new Fellows. We will enjoy a nibble and a scribble, followed by a presentation by a guest speaker that will be sure to teach, inspire, and motivate you as you find space in the summer to writer yourself and also gear up for a new school year. Reunion Day typically takes place on the third Thursday in June from 8:30 am – noon. Look for an email invitation and be sure to RSVP so we know to count on you for lunch!
Guest speakers we’ve learned from in past years include:
– 2023: Dr. Debbie Dean, professor of English education at Brigham Young University, CUWP Founder
– 2022: Lindsey Leavitt, YA author
– 2021: Dr. David Gill, YA author and professor of creative writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Walk and Write
Connect and reconnect with other CUWP Fellows as we carve out time for nourishing our own writing lives. You probably remember the Walk and Write as one of our favorite days together during Summer Institute; the good news is this tradition doesn’t stop after SI! Typically, we meet at a location in Utah County once in the fall and once in the spring, walking and writing together for about an hour. Often, folks will stay to enjoy dinner together at a local restaurant afterwards. Look for emails from cuwp@byu.edu to find out when the next event is!
CUWP Book Club
Join with other Fellows in shared inquiry about a topic relevant to the writing, the teaching of writing, and/or the development of writing teachers. CUWP will subsidize the cost of your book as a contribution to your developing professional library. By signing up to be a part of the book club, you commit to read the book and then show up for the book discussion at the scheduled time and place. Participating in – or even volunteering to lead – a book club discussion is a great way to continue professionalizing your practice and connecting with other writing teachers. All CUWP Fellows are invited to participate! Look for email invitations to RSVP for upcoming book clubs.
Books we’ve read and discussed together in the past include:
– March 2023: The Writer’s Mindset by Chris Hall (2021)
– November 2022: The Confidence to Write by Liz Prather (2022)
Scholastic Awards Scoring
Every year toward the end of December into early January, CUWP recruits approximately 10-15 Fellows to score entries that young writers around the country have submitted to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The pieces you will read are exploding with creativity from passionate student writers. Earn some money while reconnecting with other Fellows! The work is lightweight and enjoyable. Look for our recruitment emails in November or December for more details and to let us know you’d like to join the team.
Youth Writing Camp Facilitator
CUWP has partnered with BYU Conferences and Workshops to host youth writing camps each summer, and we hire Fellows to plan and teach the writing classes for these eager young writers. If you’re interested in working with a group of bright young people who are excited to develop as writers, please consider one of the following opportunities:
- The Magic of Writing is a day camp in the summer geared for kids entering grades 5-6, taking place M-F from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm during two week-long sessions in the summer. There are about 50 students per week. Lunch and snacks are included, and teaching assistants are provided. You’ll be in charge of developing the curriculum according to the camp description. We usually hire 2 Fellows as teachers for each camp.
- Young Authors Academy is a weeklong overnight camp geared for kids entering grades 8-12, taking place during one week in mid-July. This camp needs teachers to teach two 1-hour elective writing blocks each afternoon for small groups of student campers, sometime between 1 and 4 pm. You’ll be in charge of developing the content for these electives. We usually hire between 4-6 Fellows as workshop facilitators.
Please keep an eye out for emails with more details about dates, times, and compensation for these summer teaching roles, and note that if you’re a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you’ll need a bishop’s endorsement to be employed and paid by BYU.
One-Week Workshop Facilitator
Each summer, CUWP offers a one-week version of the Summer Institute to K-12 teachers across all content areas in Utah. The One-Week Workshop is directed by two Fellows and features many of the same writing and learning activities as we experienced together in SI: reading groups, writing groups, a Walk and Write, a guest speaker, and lots of meaningful personal and professional connection. Each summer, the theme of the workshop will be based on a focus text that centers participants’ learning and collaboration around an important topic relevant to writing and teaching; workshop facilitators have a lot of freedom in choosing topics and developing this workshop, for which participating teachers can earn up to 3 college credits. If you’re interested in developing professional learning opportunities for other teachers, please let us know you’re interested in being considered for this role.
CUWP Advisory Board
Each year, the CUWP leadership team invites up to 10 Fellows to participate on an annual advisory board whose mission it is to strengthen the community of CUWP by reviewing, imagining, and implementing projects related to the core mission of the site. Currently, the advisory board meets all together in person about two times a year and works in smaller project groups to accomplish the goals of the site. If you are a CUWP Fellow who is interested in participating on the advisory board, please reach out and let us know by emailing us at cuwp@byu.edu.
Summer Institute Returning Fellows
Each summer, we invite a past Fellow to participate in SI again. If you interested in reconnecting with CUWP, and continuing to interrogate your practice while making new connections with a whole new group of SI teachers, let us know you’d be interested in coming through the summer institute again. This second year of participation is by invitation only, but it is helpful to know who is available and excited about the opportunity.
Presenter at Workshops and Conferences
After having conducted classroom inquiry and developed a lab lesson for your peers at the Summer Institute, all CUWP Fellows should be ready to go public with their practice by developing new presentations (or iterations of past presentations) to share at a range of workshops and conferences! CUWP regularly publicizes professional conference opportunities to Fellows and offers ways to support them in developing presentations. Our Fellows have been regular presenters at the Utah Council of Teachers of English annual conference, at CUWP-sponsored conferences and workshops, and at professional development workshops within their schools and districts. Keep your eyes peeled for conference presentation opportunities through regular updates from cuwp@byu.edu.