Promising Young Writers Advisory Committee

Function: To advise staff on the nature, policies, and procedures regarding the NCTE Promising Young Writer Awards, including the following issues: to develop a specific plan for involving more public schools in the awards, especially those with large non-white populations; and to prepare a written set of recommendations for the Executive Committee regarding the following: revision of the structure of the award to mitigate the negative effects of competition on student identity and learning; consideration and development of diversified awards: that recognize development of English Language Learners in writing in their first language as well as English composition; that recognize remarkable improvement or growth in writing; that recognize multi-modal composition (digital or non-digital); and that recognize remarkable risk-taking with the process of writing, instead of the exclusive focus on the final draft; and consideration of revising the Promising Young Writer Awards procedure, to eliminate the test-like, single-draft, timed essay as part of the award criteria, since recent developments in high-stakes assessment already privilege those who write quickly.

What major actions or projects have been completed by your group since July 1, 2006?

The committee recommends that mid- to late- February be adopted as an alternative to the current January deadline. Rationale: Many schools are changing semesters in January; this might not be the best time for teachers to be gathering materials and promoting the PYW program. Therefore, we ask that the executive committee consider changing the deadline for the PYW program from mid-January to mid- to late- February starting by 2010.

The new topic for the 2008 PYW program was discussed via email and selected by the August 1st deadline.

What projects, initiatives, or studies are “in progress” at this time?

We’ll be continuing to explore ways to recruit and recognize teachers who participate in this program, and of course, their student writers. We are especially looking at ways to increase participation from underrepresented and diverse groups.

Additionally, we’ll be working via email and at the next NCTE conference meeting to discuss and develop a response to the Executive Committee’s charge that we consider revising the PYW Awards procedure to “eliminate the test-like, single-draft, timed essay as part of the award criteria, since recent developments in high-stakes already privilege those who write quickly.” One suggestion that was brought up involves asking students to submit a reflection letter in which they discuss how they might revise the piece if given the opportunity.

We would like to talk to NCTE liaison and/or Executive Committee about the possibility of making electronic judging forms available so that we could use email rather than snail mail to gather results whenever possible.

PYW members present at the NCTE meeting in Nashville include the following:
Kia Jane Richmond (Chair), Shannon Collins, Connie Hauer, Kilian McCurrie, Dianne Sievers, Judy Wallis, Leah Zuidema, and Millie Davis (NCTE). 

Kia Jane Richmond, Chair